HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Members: Allowances

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many full-time equivalent officials were employed to deal with hon. Members' allowance claims in the Department of Finance and Administration and its predecessor department in  (a) 2006,  (b) 1996 and  (c) 1986.

Nick Harvey: At 1 April 2006 approximately 30 full-time equivalent, permanent staff were employed to deal with hon. Members' allowance claims in the Department of Finance and Administration. Comparable figures are no longer held for 1996 and 1986.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has paid local transporters in  (a) Afghanistan and  (b) Pakistan to transport British goods for resupply in each year since 2002.

Bob Ainsworth: The cost of onward movement from Kandahar to other UK bases in Afghanistan between April 2006 and March 2007 was around £3.2 million. Data prior to April 2006 are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The cost of transport through Pakistan is subsumed in the costs associated with the contract for the transport of supplies from the UK to the UK logistics hub in Afghanistan. A breakdown cannot be provided of the amount paid to 'local' transporters as the MOD does not have visibility of such sub-contracts.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many visits were made by personnel from his Department to detainees transferred from British forces to the government of Afghanistan in each year since 2005; and what the purpose was of each visit.

Des Browne: Records show that, since 27 April 2007, UK armed forces personnel have made 13 visits to see detainees transferred to the government of Afghanistan, normally seeing several detainees in one visit. The purpose of the visits was to check on the welfare and status of the detainees.
	Information related to visits prior to 27 April 2007 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provision there is to provide  (a) washing facilities and  (b) washing powder for clothing at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan.

Bob Ainsworth: Personnel at Camp Bastion have access to a contract laundry facility to wash clothing. This facility is provided free of charge. The frequency of the laundry service currently allows for two 5 kg bags per person per week. Washing powder is available from the NAAFI should personnel wish to wash items by hand.

Armed Forces: Death

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps are taken to keep families informed during enquiries into the death of servicemen; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The armed forces ensure that families are kept informed of all developments, regarding investigations into the deaths of service personnel, through their respective visiting officers. Where there is a board of inquiry, families will be given personal briefings on the process, findings, conclusions and recommendations.

Armed Forces: Desertion

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces reported absent without leave between January 2004 and October 2007 were aged between  (a) 18 to 20,  (b) 21 to 25,  (c) 26 to 30,  (d) 31 to 35 and  (e) 36-years-old or above.

Bob Ainsworth: The breakdown of personnel reported absent without leave by age group between January 2004 and October 2007 for the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Army is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The number of Royal Navy personnel broken down by age group who have been reported absent without leave between January 2004 and October 2007 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Age 18-20  Age 21-25  Age 26-30  Age 31-36  Age 36+  Total 
			 2004 66 67 23 18 10 184 
			 2005 89 70 20 15 2 196 
			 2006 77 57 8 12 3 157 
			 2007 49 47 8 4 7 115 
			 Total 281 241 59 49 22 652

Armed Forces: Postal Services

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the cost of the free postal service for troops announced on 12 November will be paid by  (a) Royal Mail and  (b) the British Forces Post Office; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The Ministry of Defence does not maintain details on the cost to Defence of providing a postal service to operational theatres as the value varies according to the volume of mail presented. If volume rises significantly then costs will increase exponentially due to additional air charter and personnel deployment costs.
	For illustrative reasons, the current full commercial cost of sending a 2 kg airmail packet to Iraq or Afghanistan via Royal Mail is £20.72. If this cost is taken as being representative of the total cost of sending a 2 kg package to Iraq or Afghanistan then the Ministry of Defence was paying 69 per cent. prior to the introduction of the freepost service on 3 September. The remaining 31 per cent. was paid by the consigner. As a result of the extension of the freepost service jointly announced with Royal Mail on 12 November, the Royal Mail will fund approximately 15.5 per cent. of the illustrative cost, with Ministry of Defence funding the remaining 84.5 per cent.

Army: Deployment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average tour interval was for the  (a) infantry,  (b) Royal Artillery,  (c) Royal Engineers,  (d) Royal Corps of Signals,  (e) Royal Armoured Corps,  (f) Household Cavalry,  (g) Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers and  (h) Army Medical Services in the latest period for which figures are available.

Bob Ainsworth: The average unit tour intervals for the Infantry and those units of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, the Royal Armoured Corps and the Army Medical Services which deploy as fully formed units, are 23.5, 20.8, 23.1 and 24.5 months respectively. This is calculated on the basis of the mean time between the start of the most recent deployment and the end of the previous deployment.
	The Household Cavalry has only deployed as a unit twice since January 2003: Iraq (April 2004-October 2004) and Afghanistan (October 2007-April 2008). As such, its average unit tour interval and actual unit tour interval is 35 months.
	The unit tour interval is a less relevant measure when applied to the Corps of Royal Engineers, Royal Corps of Signals and the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. This is due to the frequency with which personnel move between formed units within these Corps (the personnel deployed with a unit will be substantially different from the personnel deployed with the same unit on a previous occasion). Consequently, unit tour interval data for these Corps are not routinely collated.

Ballistic Missile Defence

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of the US Missile Defense programme to UK defence policy.

Des Browne: The US plans to place further missile defence assets in Europe are an important step towards providing a defensive capability against potential future ballistic missile threats to the UK. We will continue to discuss with the US how this coverage will be achieved as the system evolves.

Guided Weapons

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons the Hydra CRV-7 rocket system has been reclassified as no longer a cluster munition; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 26 July 2007,  Official Report, column 1247W, to the hon. Member for Gower (Mr. Caton).
	There is no international definition of a cluster munition, nor of the number of sub-munitions a weapon must carry in order to be classed as a cluster munition. An element of the UK's own understanding of a cluster munition is that a weapon should carry more than 10 sub-munitions in order to be classified a cluster munition.
	The term 'Hydra' refers to an American rocket system which we do not use. The Canadian Rocket Vehicle 7 (CRV-7) is manufactured in Canada and is the version currently in-service with UK forces. Multi Purpose Sub Munition is one of the rocket variants of the CRV-7 system.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British  (a) 20 foot and  (b) 40 foot shipping containers used for resupply have been reported as (i) missing and (ii) stolen in Afghanistan and Iraq in each year since 2002.

Bob Ainsworth: No shipping containers have been reported as missing or stolen.

Libyan Arab Republic: Arms Trade

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value of arms and related equipment exported from the UK to Libya has been over the last 10 years.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government do not hold information on the value of arms and related equipment exported from the UK, but can provide information on the value of licences issued for export. The Government publish detailed information on export licences issued, including the overall value and number of export licences approved for Libya and a summary of the items covered by these licences, in its Annual and Quarterly Reports on Strategic Export Controls.
	The Government's Annual Reports, published since 1997, are available from the Libraries of the House and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website at
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c =Page&cid=1007029395474.
	The Government have published quarterly reports on Strategic Export Controls since January 2004 and these are also available from this website. Please note that the Annual Reports for 1997 and 1998 do not give the total value of Standard Individual Export Licences issued as this information was not collected at the time.

Military Aircraft: Operating Costs

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the hourly operating cost including crew time is for  (a) Nimrod MR2,  (b) Chinook,  (c) Apache and  (d) Tornado GR4 aircraft.

Bob Ainsworth: The total cost per funded flying hour is shown in the table as follows:
	
		
			  Aircraft  Cost (£) 
			 Tornado GR4 33,000 
			 Nimrod 30,000 
			 Chinook 24,000 
			 Apache 46,000 
		
	
	This includes forward and depth servicing, fuel costs, crew costs, training costs and the cost of capital charge and depreciation.

Military Bases: Security

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the adequacy of security at his Department's bases and headquarters in the UK; what steps are taken to deter unwanted intrusion; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The state of security across the Defence estate is generally satisfactory. The Department, in common with similar large organisations, faces ever-changing threats and challenges to its security. High priority is given to security at MOD establishments, the risks posed to buildings and staff are kept under constant review to ensure that appropriate levels of security are applied through a process of risk management. For obvious reasons it is not practice to reveal MOD security measures publicly. However, I can assure the hon. Member that wherever a security incident occurs, it is speedily investigated and remedial action is taken if appropriate.

Navy: Fisheries

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the training that officers in the Fishery Protection Squadron undertake.

Bob Ainsworth: In addition to their extensive naval training, British Sea Fishery Officers attend a three week shore course and a 10 day practical sea training course specifically for the purpose. This training is primarily sponsored by the Marine and Fisheries Agency (MFA) and is taught by both MFA (District Inspector (Training)) and Royal Naval (Fishery Protection Inspector) instructors.

Northwood Headquarters

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the role of the Northwood headquarters is in supporting  (a) the EU Battle Group concept and  (b) The Nordic Battle Group.

Bob Ainsworth: The UK permanent joint headquarters (PJHQ) at Northwood is one of five national operational headquarters (OHQ) declared available for European Union military operations. The others are at Larissa (Greece), Potsdam (Germany), Rome (Italy) and Mont Valerien (Paris). In addition, access to NATO OHQ at SHAPE, Brussels, is assured for EU military operations.
	PJHQ will provide the OHQ building and technical and administrative support, including trained core staff, for the Nordic Battle Group during its time as one of the two EU battle groups on standby between January and June 2008.

Patrol Craft: Repairs and Maintenance

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the maintenance schedule of the River Class offshore patrol vessels is; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The three River class vessels are supported under a Contractor Logistic Support contract placed with VT Group plc. Under the contract the three vessels are required to be operationally available for a total of 960 days per annum. Each vessel undergoes two maintenance periods per annum, one of nine days and one of 16 days duration. The work undertaken during these periods is a combination of contractor and ship's company tasks.

Reserve Forces: Finance

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the planned funding for the  (a) Royal Marines Reserve,  (b) Royal Naval Reserve and  (c) Royal Fleet Auxiliary is in the financial years (i) 2007-08 and (ii) 2008-09.

Bob Ainsworth: These organisations do not have distinct, identifiable budgets. Costs are managed functionally rather than organisationally. But the following indicative figures are available for forecast expenditure in 2007-08:
	
		
			£ million 
			 Royal Navy Reserve Pay and allowances. 7 
			 Royal Marines Reserve Pay and allowances. 3 
			 Royal Navy Reserve/Royal Marine Reserve Utilities, rent of accommodation, transport, travel and subsistence. Excludes stores consumption and IT. 4 
			 Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) RFA manpower costs, training and travel and subsistence; new build, maintenance and asset depreciation/cost of capital for RFA ships. Excludes fuel, stores consumption and IT. 350 
		
	
	Spending plans for future years are being reviewed in the current Departmental planning round.

Tornado Aircraft

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to remove some part of the operational capabilities or lower the operational readiness of the Tornado GR4 aircraft at  (a) RAF Lossiemouth and  (b) RAF Marham over the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The MOD has no plans for any changes to the Tornado GR4 force structure at present.

Warships

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what further reductions in the numbers of  (a) frigates and  (b) destroyers are planned to facilitate financial savings.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 19 November 2007
	 While the Defence Programme is kept under regular review, there are currently no plans to change the number of destroyers or frigates in service with the Royal Navy.

Warships: Finance

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of  (a) HMS Ocean,  (b) HMS Bulwark and  (c) HMS Illustrious when commissioned in 2007 prices.

Bob Ainsworth: The costs of HM Ships Ocean, Bulwark and Illustrious at the time they were commissioned, uprated to 2007-08 prices, are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Vessel  Date of commissioning  Price uprated to 2007-08 prices (£ million) 
			 HMS Ocean 1999 289.2 
			 HMS Bulwark 2004 279.7 
			 HMS Illustrious 1982 553.9

OLYMPICS

Olympic Board Secretariat

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what functions are performed by  (a) the Secretariat to the Olympic Board and  (b) the Government Olympic Executive; how many people work in each body; and how much has been spent on staffing each body.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 13 November 2007
	The Secretariat to the Olympic Board provides support to the board through arranging meetings and preparing agendas, papers and minutes. As of 12 November 2007, the Secretariat consists of two full-time equivalent staff. The current Secretariat, based within the Government Olympic Executive (GOE), took over this function from the Olympic Programme Support Unit in September 2007. The cost of the current Secretariat for September and October 2007 was £7,109.48.
	The Government Olympic Executive consists of 61.3 full-time equivalent staff. GOE's main function is to provide an intelligent client for the Olympic programme on behalf of Government. GOE currently divides its staff broadly across four main functions:
	(1) Oversight of and support to the key delivery bodies (ODA and LOCOG);
	(2) Legacy planning;
	(3) Co-ordination of other functions including parliamentary business, research, planning, and public engagement;
	(4) Detailed oversight of financial operations.
	The GOE staff cost for October 2007 was £629,691 and staff costs to date in this financial year are £2,168,158.

Olympic Games 2012

Boris Johnson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics if she will place in the Library a copy of the Olympic Delivery Authority's register of gifts and hospitality.

Tessa Jowell: The Olympic Delivery Authority intends to publish its register of gifts and hospitality early next year.

Olympic Games 2012: Mayor of London

Boris Johnson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics whether she plans to revise further the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government and the Mayor of London.

Tessa Jowell: There is no current reason to further revise the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government and the Mayor of London.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many officials from his Department attended the cross-Government working group on anti-Semitism on 15 November, broken down by grade; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Mr. Dhandra) on 22 November 2007,  Official Report, column 1012W.

Cricket: Floods

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will provide an update on assistance provided to cricket clubs affected by flood damage.

Gerry Sutcliffe: To date, two applications have been made to Sport England for National Sports Foundation funding for cricket clubs affected by flood damage. Additional information was requested and has now been received from the English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). These applications can now be considered for funding.

Cultural Heritage: Marketing

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what agreements exist between English Heritage, the national museums and galleries and VisitBritain for the joint-marketing of English Heritage properties and the national museums and galleries to  (a) inbound and  (b) domestic visitors.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 19 November 2007
	VisitBritain works closely with English Heritage, and the National Museums and Galleries, on the marketing of Britain's historic and cultural assets to both inbound and domestic visitors.
	Although there are no formal marketing agreements VisitBritain hosts free contributions on its websites from English Heritage and the National Museums and Galleries. VisitBritain and English Heritage are partners in the Great British Heritage Pass which is marketed by VisitBritain to inbound visitors.
	Working in partnership as the Heritage in Britain consortium, English Heritage, VisitBritain, and National Museums and Galleries share research and best practice in the marketing and promotion of Britain's attractions both domestically and overseas.

Departmental Official Hospitality

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what entertainment or hospitality members of his Department's management board received in each of the last three financial years; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: Paragraph 4.3.5 of the Civil Service Management Code sets out the rules on the registration of hospitality. The Government are committed to publishing an annual list of hospitality received by members of departmental boards. The first list for 2007 will be published as soon as it is ready after the end of the current calendar year.

Departmental Orders and Regulations

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many regulations his Department has  (a) made and  (b) revoked in the last 12 months.

Margaret Hodge: Over the last year, DCMS made 61 statutory instruments and revoked 44. The majority of these new and revoked instruments (43 and 31 respectively) relate to the implementation of the Gambling Act 2005 which came fully into effect on 1 September 2007 and which simplified and modernised previous gambling legislation.

Departmental Public Participation

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what opinion polls his Department has conducted of  (a) the public and  (b) staff since 27 June 2007; and what the (i) name of the firm employed to conduct the poll, (ii) purpose and (iii) cost to the public purse was in each case.

Margaret Hodge: The Department has conducted one public opinion poll since 27 June 2007. The firm employed was BMRB and the purpose was to gauge national public opinion about the Olympic legacy promises. The cost was £65,629.
	The Department has conducted various opinion polls of staff since 27 June 2007 which are listed:
	1. Two staff workshops with a range of DCMS staff to explore responses to the recent DCMS Capability Review. These were managed by Campbell Keegan and cost £12,250.
	2. A staff opinion survey. The firm employed was ORC International and the purpose was to find out staff views on working at DCMS. The cost was £20,425.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department and its agencies spent on managing their corporate identities in the last 12 month period for which figures are available.

Margaret Hodge: The Department has had a zero spend on managing its corporate identity in the last 12-month period.
	With regard to its agencies, this figure could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Standards

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he expects to publish his Department's autumn performance report.

Margaret Hodge: DCMS has not yet set a date for publication of its Autumn Performance Report for 2007, however it is our intention to publish this before the House rises for the Christmas recess.

Digital Broadcasting: Radio

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to ensure that the Ofcom tendering process procures a single digital radio broadcasting contract to provide coverage for the whole of Gloucestershire.

James Purnell: The planning, licensing and regulation of radio (except BBC) is a matter for the independent regulator Ofcom.

Heritage

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on progress in developing a UK national heritage science strategy.

James Purnell: In consultation with the sector, English Heritage is setting up a steering group which will collect and collate information and make proposals for a UK national heritage science strategy.

Museums and Galleries

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many  (a) UK residents and  (b) tourists from overseas visited (i) museums and (ii) art galleries in the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Margaret Hodge: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The number of visits by UK residents to (i) museums and (ii) art galleries sponsored by DCMS are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Million 
			   (i) Museums  (ii) Art galleries 
			 1998-99 7.70 5.32 
			 1999-2000 8.49 4.99 
			 2000-01 11.56 7.99 
			 2001-02 13.45 7.66 
			 2002-03 16.56 7.47 
			 2003-04 15.56 7.68 
			 2004-05 16.60 8.61 
			 2005-06 15.52 7.55 
			 2006-07 16.04 8.76 
		
	
	 (b) The number of visits by overseas tourists to (i) museums and (ii) art galleries sponsored by DCMS are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Million 
			   (i) Museums  (ii) Art galleries 
			 1998-99 2.54 3.51 
			 1999-2000 2.56 3.49 
			 2000-01 4.61 4.74 
			 2001-02 4.93 4.21 
			 2002-03 5.31 4.28 
			 2003-04 7.19 4.61 
			 2004-05 6.82 4.06 
			 2005-06 6.57 4.35 
			 2006-07 8.91 5.34 
		
	
	A breakdown of visits by UK and overseas residents to DCMS sponsored museums and art galleries is not available for 1997-98, as those data were not collected prior to 1998-99.
	Figures on the number of UK residents and overseas tourists that visit all museums and art galleries in the UK each year is not available.

Museums and Galleries: North East Region

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has for funding of Renaissance in the Regions in the North East; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: Investment in the programme as a whole will rise from £45 million this year to £48.7 million in 2010-11. The specific allocation for museums in the North East will be decided by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.

National Lottery: Sports

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was distributed to sport from the National Lottery, excluding investment income, in each year since 1994-95.

James Purnell: holding answer 19 November 2007
	The following table shows the total operator proceeds raised for and held in the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF) for the sport lottery distributors, for each complete financial year. The figures are taken from the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF) annual accounts, except for the figure for 2006-07 which is a provisional figure subject to audit. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand pounds.
	
		
			  Financial year  Total operator proceeds( 1)  (£) 
			 1994-95 58,100,000 
			 1995-96 293,376,000 
			 1996-97 289,172,000 
			 1997-98 321,955,000 
			 1998-99 253,244,000 
			 1999-2000 244,729,000 
			 2000-01 257,987,000 
			 2001-02 276,022,000 
			 2002-03 229,461,000 
			 2003-04 216,474,000 
			 2004-05 226,077,000 
			 2005-06 230,415,000 
			 2006-07 200,930,000 
			 (1) Rounded to nearest thousand

National Security

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the statement by the Prime Minister on 14 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 667-72, on national security, when he expects the Royal Television Society and Society of Newspaper Editors to hold the conference and regional debates on how to ensure accurate and balanced reporting of issues related to terrorism in the media, announced by the Prime Minister; what contribution his Department expects to make to the costs of these debates; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: The timing and format of the conference and debates are a matter for the organisations concerned. The Government have not received any request for a contribution towards the costs but would be happy to consider what support might be necessary to make them successful.

Opinion Leader Research

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many contracts were awarded by his Department to Opinion Leader Research in each year since 1997; and what was  (a) the title and purpose,  (b) the cost to the public purse and  (c) the dates of (i) tender, (ii) award, (iii) operation and (iv) completion and report to the Department in each case.

Margaret Hodge: There have been no contracts awarded by my Department to Opinion Leader Research since 1997.

Public Service Broadcasting

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on the obligations of the public service broadcasters in respect of television text services.

James Purnell: Teletext is the commercial public service broadcaster which is required under the terms of its licence to make a text service available, currently in both analogue and digital formats. The holder of the Channel 3 licence, Channel 4 and the Welsh Authority are currently required to grant access to the analogue public teletext provider to the facilities reasonably required for the purposes of the provision of that service. Under its Charter and Agreement, the BBC has currently undertaken to provide analogue Ceefax. The analogue Teletext service and BBC Ceefax will not be available after digital switchover but I understand that digital Teletext and a digital BBC text service will be.

Royal Opera House: Finance

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much grant aid the Arts Council for England has provided to  (a) the Royal Opera House and  (b) English National Opera in each of the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: The grant in aid figures are as follows:
	
		
			   million 
			   Royal Opera House  English National Opera 
			 2003-04 21,754,450 15,000,000 
			 2004-05 23,110,841 16,078,500 
			 2005-06 24,866,154 16,556,220 
			 2006-07 25,550,000 17,011,516 
			 2007-08 26,252,600 17,479,300

Somerset House

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proposals he has for modification of the head lease of Somerset house to permit a wider range of potential uses.

Margaret Hodge: In line with its mission to open up Somerset house to the public and complete the restoration of the 18(th) century buildings round the courtyard, Somerset house Trust has invited bids from potential partners to re-develop the adjoining new wing. The Trust is currently analysing the options to achieve the best solution and will then put proposals to Ministers for them to consider.

Sports: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding his Department allocated to sport in  (a) Peterborough constituency and ( b) Peterborough city council area in each year since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not fund sport directly. In this instance funding has been provided by Sport England to:
	
		
			  (a) Peterborough constituency 
			
			 1998 152,889 
			 1999 9,758 
			 2000 16,916 
			 2001 25,676 
			 2002 16,222 
			 2003 64,484 
			 2004 116,000 
			 2005 3,000 
			 Total 404,945 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Peterborough city council 
			   
			 1998 442,689 
			 1999 54,328 
			 2000 21,915 
			 2001 32,326 
			 2002 25,378 
			 2003 64,484 
			 2004 116,000 
			 2005 3,000 
			 2006 30,000 
			 Total 790,120

Travel Information

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many tourist information centres there were in  (a) 1997,  (b) 2002 and  (c) 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: There are currently around 500 Tourist Information Centres (TICs) in England. Historical information about TIC numbers is not held centrally.
	The vast majority of TICs are managed by local authorities, as part of their discretionary support for the sector. Decisions about provision will continue to be made at a local level.

TRANSPORT

Airports: Public Participation

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultations on airport development are planned; and what the expected date of each consultation is.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department is currently consulting on proposals to add capacity at Heathrow airport. This meets a commitment in the 2004 'Future of Air Transport' White Paper, which was itself developed following wide consultation. The Department has no plans to consult on specific development proposals at other airports though individual airport operators will need to consult in accordance with planning requirements as and when they bring forward their proposals.

Aviation: Security

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what the outcomes were of discussions she has had with the aviation industry on ensuring that the UK's aviation security regime is properly enforced without causing unnecessary inconvenience to passengers; and how her Department is implementing these outcomes;
	(2)  what consultations she has had with the  (a) aviation and  (b) security industries on the future of the one item of hand luggage rule; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what her plans are relating to the one item of hand luggage rule.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Ministers meet regularly with members of the industry, both bilaterally and through relevant committees.
	The Secretary of State discussed cabin baggage restrictions with senior aviation industry representatives at the Aviation Security Summit and also with individual airline and airport operators.
	My right hon. Friend's written statement of 14 November explained that airports may permit passengers to carry more than one item of hand luggage from 7 January 2008, provided they have been able to show that they have in place the screening capacity needed to handle the additional bags without any adverse impact on the standard of security achieved. It will be for each airport to bring its plans to the Department for approval, as and when it is ready to do so.

Cars: Leader of the Opposition

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what car has been made available to the Leader of the Opposition; how many hours a day a chauffeur is available to him; what the monthly cost of this provision was in each of the last 12 months; and how much of that cost was accounted for by  (a) the running costs of the vehicle,  (b) the costs of the chauffeur and  (c) all other costs.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) provides a driver to the Leader of the Official Opposition to support him in carrying out his official duties. The costs associated with use for non-official duties are met by the Conservative Party. The hours worked by the driver are determined by the Leader of the Opposition's day-to-day requirements. The current average monthly contracted cost for providing this service is 4,027 (excl. VAT).
	The GCDA does not currently provide a car to the Leader of the Official Opposition. His car is provided [and paid for] by the Conservative Party. A contribution is provided by Government towards the cost of fuel.

Departmental Internet

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many new websites have been published by  (a) her Department and  (b) its executive agencies and their subsidiaries since her Department announced its website rationalisation process;
	(2)  which websites are run by  (a) her Department and  (b) each of its agencies, listed by the order in which they went live;
	(3)  which websites run by  (a) her Department and  (b) its executive agencies are live but are no longer updated.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The website rationalisation exercise, which forms part of the Government's Transformational Government agenda, proposed a moratorium on the creation of new websites. The Department's policy is to adhere to that position.
	There are currently 80 sites across the Department, its executive agencies and subsidiaries, 74 of which have been identified for closure. To clarify the exact date on which each of these sites was published and to clarify whether information has been published recently on each of these sites, would require dialogue with each website owner and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Following is a full list of the Department's and executive agencies' websites.
	
		
			  Department/executive agency  Website 
			 About Transport Direct(1) www.transportdirect.gov.uk 
			 A595(1) www.a595.co.uk 
			 Arrive Alive(1) www.arrivealive.info 
			 Bus Priority Resource Pack(1) www.buspriority.org 
			 Car Fuel Data(1) www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk 
			 Cyclesense(1) www.cyclesense.net 
			 Cyclesmart(1) www.cyclesmart.org 
			 Dartford River Crossing(1) www.dartfordrivercrossing.co.uk 
			 Department for Transport www.dft.gov.uk 
			 DfT Matrix(1) www.dft-matrix.net 
			 DPTAC e-community(1) www.ecommunities.dft.gov.uk 
			 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency(1) www.dvla.gov.uk 
			 Driving Standards Agency(1) www.dsa.gov.uk 
			 Drugdrive(1) www.drugdrive.com 
			 DSA IRDT Instructor Services(1) https://pt.dsa.gov.uk/DSAWeb/ 
			 DSA Practical test booking(1) https://pt.dsa.gov.uk 
			 DSA Theory test bookings(1) www.pearsonvue.com 
			 DVLA Online(1) https://www.dvlaonline.gov.uk/Homepage.asp 
			 DVLA Personalised Registrations(1) www.dvlaregistrations.co.uk 
			 DVLA.gov.uk/vehiclelicences(1) www.vehiclelicence.gov.uk 
			 DVO Group (Driver, Vehicle and Operator Group) e-Community(1) www.ecommunities.dft.gov.uk 
			 Electronic Service Delivery of Abnormal Loads (ESDAL)( 1) www.esdal.com 
			 e-Tendering(1) https://www.prep.dft.bravosolution.com/web/login.shtml 
			 Freight best practice(1) www.freightbestpractice.org.uk 
			 Government Car and Despatch Agency(1) www.gcda.gov.uk 
			 HA Car Share(1) www.hacarshare.com 
			 HA Environmental Management System (HAEMS)( 1) No longer planned 
			 HA EU Watch(1) www. Haeuwatchits.info 
			 HA Guide to freight(1) www.haguidetofreight.co.uk 
			 Halogen(1) www.halogenonline.co.uk 
			 Halogen demo(1) www.foyer-display.co.uk 
			 Halogen demo(1) www.trafficxml.org.uk 
			 Heavy Goods Vehicle(1) www.heavygoodvehicle.com 
			 Hedgehogs www.hedgehogs.gov.uk 
			 Highway Code(1) www.highwaycode.gov.uk 
			 Highways Agency(1) www.highways.gov.uk 
			 ITS Radar(1) www.itsradar.co.uk 
			 M25 sphere(1) www.mouchelparkman.com/area5/v3/rwis/area5.nsf/httpPublicMap?ReadForm 
			 Maritime and Coastguard Agency www.mcga.gov.uk 
			 MOT info(1) www.motinfo.gov.uk 
			 Non-executive director job ad(1) www.tribalresourcing.com/highways-ned/ 
			 ODS Databank(1) www.odsdatabank.com 
			 PartnerNET(1) www.ha-partnernet.org.uk 
			 Pass Plus(1) www.passplus.org.uk 
			 Payroll Services e-Community(1) www.ecommunities.dft.gov.uk 
			 Primary School Teaching Resource(1) www.databases.dft.gov.uk/primary 
			 Property review group (BRBR)( 1) www.railprg.org.uk/ 
			 Realtime Traffic Info(1) www.realtime-traffic.info 
			 Research Compendium(1) www.ha-research.gov.uk 
			 Research Database(1) http://www.rmd.dft.gov.uk/ 
			 Road Safety Resources database(1) www.databases.dft.gov.uk/roadsafety/ 
			 School Lesson Plans Database(1) www.databases.dft.gov.uk/lessonplans 
			 Secondary School Teaching Resource(1) www.databases.dft.gov.uk/secondary 
			 Standards for Highways(1) www.standardsforhighways.co.uk 
			 Sustainable School Travel Database(1) www.databases.dft.gov.uk/schools/ 
			 The Academy(1) www.themotorcycleacademy.co.uk 
			 The Red Ensign Group www.redensigngroup.org 
			 Theory Tests(1) www.theory-tests.co.uk 
			 THINK!( 1) www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk 
			 THINK! Seat belts(1) www.thinkseatbelts.com 
			 Traffic England(1) www.trafficengland.com 
			 Traffic Map(1) www.trafficmap.co.uk 
			 Traffic Officer Recruitment(1) www.betterhighways.co.uk 
			 Traffic radio(1) www.trafficradio.org.uk 
			 Transec (Transport Security) e-Community(1) www.ecommunities.dft.gov.uk 
			 Transport Direct www.transportdirect.info 
			 Transport Office(1) www.transportoffice.gov.uk 
			 TSS Plans Registry(1) www.tssplansregistry.co.uk 
			 UK Search and Rescue(1) www.uk-sar.org.uk 
			 UK Ship Register www.ukshipregister.co.uk 
			 UTMC: Urban Traffic Management and control(1) www.utmc.gov.uk 
			 VCA www.vca.gov.uk 
			 Vehicle Licensing Online(1) www.dvla.gov.uk/vehiclelicence 
			 Vehicle Licensing Online (Direct.gov.uk/taxdisc)( 1) www.direct.gov.uk/taxdisc 
			 Video Information Highway(1) www.vihengland.org 
			 VOSA Corporate site(1) www.vosa.gov.uk 
			 Water Freight Grant Environmental Benefit Calculator(1) www.dft-eb-calculator.co.uk 
			 WebDAS (Departures from Standards)Planned(1) Not yet launched 
			 WebTAG: Transport Analysis Guidance(1) www.webtag.org.uk 
			 What if?( 1) www.ask-what-if.com 
			 (1) Either closed or identified for closure

Departmental Manpower

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people aged  (a) 30 to 39,  (b) 40 to 49,  (c) 50 to 59 and  (d) 60 to 69 years have (i) applied for jobs, (ii) received interviews and (iii) gained (A) temporary and (B) permanent jobs in her Department in 2007.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department does not routinely collate age related data on job applicants and interviewees and this can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The following table shows provisional data on people given temporary and permanent jobs in the Department in 2007. These figures exclude DSA and VGA, which can only collate the data as requested at a disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Age Group  Temporary  Permanent 
			 30 to 39 76 234 
			 40 to 49 57 188 
			 50 to 59 57 120 
			 60 to 69 8 10 
			 Total 198 552

East Coast Railway Line

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much her Department spent on the recent competition for early refranchising of the East Coast main line.

Tom Harris: The re-franchising has been completed at no cost to Government. Costs incurred have been met by Sea Containers Ltd.

Eurostar

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the cost of maintaining the Eurostar platforms at Waterloo station per month.

Tom Harris: Eurostar are de-commissioning the station and leaving it in a suitable condition to transfer to the department at the end of March 2008. This work involves taking out all the equipment needed to operate an international statione.g. customs control arrangementswhich are now redundant. The cost of this de-commissioning work is between 50,000 and 100,000.
	There is also an ongoing need to maintain the wider facilities at Waterloo International in a safe and secure condition. The cost of doing this is likely to be in the region of 500,000 per annum. Such costs would need to be incurred irrespective of the future use of the station.

Lorries: Speed Limits

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department has made an assessment of the merits of requiring speed limiters to be fitted to non-UK registered heavy goods vehicles.

Jim Fitzpatrick: It is already a requirement under the provisions of directive 92/6/EEC as amended by directive 2002/85/EC for heavy goods vehicles registered in any EU member state to be fitted with a speed limiter.

Motor Vehicles: Crime

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of her full-time equivalent officials have worked on proposals to combat vehicle crime over the last six months.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The lead responsibility for combating vehicle crime rests with the Home Office. Many of the activities of DFT and its agencies also help to tackle vehicle crime. Among the key achievements in 2006-07 were: the introduction of theft-resistant number plates to help combat car cloning and car ID theft; and an increase in wheel clamping activities to tackle vehicle excise duty evasion. It is not possible to quantify this in terms of staff numbers.

Railway Track

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department has authorised the sale of any land containing disused rail lines in the last six months.

Tom Harris: The disposal of non-operational property owned by BRB (Residuary) Ltd. (BRBR) is governed by guidance issued to the company on 26 July 2007 which I outlined in my statement to Parliament on that date. Since 1 April 2007, BRBR have disposed of 13 properties that contain disused rail lines. The disposal of railway property owned by Network Rail is undertaken in accordance with the conditions of their network license. Compliance with these conditions are monitored and enforced by the Office of Rail Regulation.

Railways: Antisocial Behaviour

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many additional British Transport Police staff she expects to be required to facilitate the recently announced initiative on anti-social behaviour on trains.

Tom Harris: This information is not held by the Department for Transport but by the British Transport police who can be contacted at:
	British Transport Police,
	25 Camden Road,
	London NW1 9LN,
	e-mail: general.enquiries@btp.pnn.police.uk

Railways: Cheshire

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans her Department has to re-open the Woodhead Tunnel for rail use; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: holding answer 20 November 2007
	The Woodhead tunnels are owned by National Grid.
	The Department has no plans to reopen the Woodhead tunnel for rail use.

Railways: East Coast Main Line

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she expects the Route Utilisation Strategy for the East Coast Main Line to be published.

Tom Harris: Route Utilisation Strategies are the responsibility of Network Rail who tell me that publication of the final Route Utilisation Strategy document for the East Coast Main Line is likely to be in February 2008.

Railways: Gloucestershire

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions she has had with  (a) Network Rail and  (b) Arriva about the frequency of its direct services between Cheltenham and the North West; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: Ministers have had no recent discussions with either Network Rail or Arriva about the frequency of direct services between Cheltenham and the North West.

Railways: Gloucestershire

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions she has had with  (a) Network Rail and  (b) train operating companies about the frequency of services to and from Ashchurch; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: Ministers have had no recent discussions with either Network Rail or train operating companies about the frequency of train services to and from Ashchurch for Tewkesbury station.

Railways: Kemble

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when a decision is expected on the re-doubling of the track between Kemble and Swindon.

Tom Harris: I understand Network Rail has consulted rail industry parties on possible changes to the Swindon to Kemble line. However, this is an operational matter for Network Rail, as the owner and operator of the national rail network. The hon. Member should contact Network Rail's Chief Executive at the following address for a response to his question.
	Iain Coucher
	Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	40 Melton Street
	London NW1 2EE

Railways: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2007,  Official Report, column 462W, which trains going from  (a) Milton Keynes to London during morning peak hours and  (b) London to Milton Keynes during evening peak hours represent an increase in peak services calling at Milton Keynes.

Tom Harris: In the morning peak, the increase in trains towards London will be provided by Virgin West Coast. Before 7.15 am, three trains currently stop to pick up and set down passengers. From December 2008, we propose that this increases to six. In the evening peak, the number of northbound Virgin services calling would double, but as is the case now they will only pick up and not set down passengers at Milton Keynes.
	London Midland services will remain at the same frequency as today. However, a new service to Clapham Junction via Kensington Olympia will operate every hour.

Rapid Transit Systems

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of her officials are working on proposals relating to light rail.

Tom Harris: The Department is currently working on a number of proposals from local authorities that relate to light rail. These proposals are in various stages of development from the initial submission of a business case, to those which are applying for statutory powers to operate and others which are close to finalising their bids for full funding approval.
	As these schemes are complex the Department has to draw upon a number of disciplines for the provision of legal and financial advice, economic appraisal of the schemes, as well as the assessment of project delivery.
	Currently we estimate that 28 departmental officials are involved in this. However, given the nature of this work this will fluctuate.

Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will consult the UK biofuels industry on the possible effects of the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO); and if she will publish a timetable for introduction of the RTFO.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The RTFO is due to come into effect in April 2008, as set out in the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations Order 2007 (SI 2007 No. 3072) which completed its passage through Parliament in October 2007. The Government have consulted extensively on the detail and likely impacts of the scheme. Copies of the relevant consultation documents are available in the House Libraries or via the Department for Transport's website:
	www.dft.gov.uk

Roads: Construction

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will publish the letter dated 1 December 1982 from her Department to Northumberland County Council headed Notes for the guidance of engineers employed in connection with trunk road schemes, and the attached notes.

Tom Harris: I am placing copies of the letter and the notes in the Libraries of the House.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will list each motorway and trunk road building project since 1997; and what the  (a) tender cost and  (b) outturn cost was in each case.

Tom Harris: The following table lists works tender/target cost against works outturn cost for each publicly funded major project (project costing over 5 million) that has been completed from June 2006 to date. Information for projects completing in the period 1997 to June 2006 can be found in a previously answered parliamentary question (UIN 62182) of 28 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 858-59W.
	
		
			  2006-07 completions 
			   million 
			  Scheme  Works tender/ target  cost  Works tender estimated out-turn cost 
			 M60 J5-8 Widening 106 129 
			 M5 J19-20 Southbound Climbing Lane (Naish Hill) 9 8 
			 M5 J19-20 Northbound Climbing Lane (Tickenham Hill) 12 10 
			 A421 Great Barford Bypass 36 40 
			 A63 Melton Grade Separated Junction 14 31 
			 A500 City Road and Stoke Junction Improvement 31 57 
			 A30/A382 Merrymeet Junction 8 8 
			 A419 Commonhead Junction 13 13 
			 A11 Attleborough Bypass 22 22 
			 M40/A404 Handy Cross Junction Improvement 10 13 
		
	
	
		
			  2007 (year to 31 October) completions 
			   million 
			  Scheme  Works tender /target cost  Works tender estimated outturn cost 
			 A428 Caxton Common to Hardwick Improvement 39 39 
			 A30 Bodmin Indian Queens Improvement 63 62 
			 A66 Carkin Moor to Scotch Corner Improvement 7 11 
			 A66 Greta Bridge to Stephen Bank Improvement 7 9 
			 A66 Temple Sowerby Bypass and Imp at Winderwath 30 28 
		
	
	Items not procured through the main works contractor and therefore not included in the tender price are excluded from the figures shown. This normally includes the costs of land acquisition and compensation, non recoverable VAT and preparation and supervision costs. It should also be noted that while the out-turn figures shown include an allowance for all works costs final accounts have not yet been settled as they are still within the maintenance/defect period.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which road projects will receive increased funding as a result of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007; which new road projects will be undertaken as a result of the provisions of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007; and what the effects of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 will be on the Transport Innovation Fund.

Tom Harris: A detailed breakdown of programme budgets within the Department for Transport covering the three years of the CSR has not yet been made; an announcement will be made in due course.

Roads: Wales

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which trunk roads in Wales straddle the border.

Tom Harris: Trunk roads in Wales are the responsibility of the Welsh Assembly Government, but the following trunk roads cross from England into Wales:
	
		
			  County  Name of trunk road 
			 Cheshire A55, A550, A483 
			 Shropshire A5, A458, A483 
			 Herefordshire A40, A465 
		
	
	In addition, the M48 Severn Bridge and the M4 Second Severn Crossing both cross the English/Welsh border.

Waterloo Station

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the five platforms vacated by Eurostar at Waterloo station will be used for trains travelling to and from the South West.

Tom Harris: holding answer 21 November 2007
	Ownership of Waterloo International transfers to the Department at the end of March 2008 following Eurostar's decommissioning of the facility as an international station. The Department is currently working closely with Network Rail and Stagecoach South West Trains (the train operating company) to finalise the design and costs associated with the partial conversion of Waterloo International potentially to accommodate some domestic passenger services. Works on site are expected to commence soon after the station transfers to the Department and will take several months to complete. Services are then expected to operate into and out of platform 20 of Waterloo International from the start of the timetable change date in December 2008.
	Options for the medium to long-term use of all five platforms are being assessed by the Department and Network Rail as part of a wider strategy for the upgrade of Waterloo station.

West Coast Railway Line: Rolling Stock

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she expects the new Virgin Pendolino carriages to be in use on the West Coast main line.

Tom Harris: Negotiations continue with Network Rail, Virgin Trains and Alstom to determine the optimal way of providing further increased capacity on the west coast main line. I hope to be able to make a further announcement during the early part of the new year.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Lancashire

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers are awaiting payment under the single payment scheme for the  (a) 2005,  (b) 2006 and  (c) 2007 payments in (i) Ribble Valley and (ii) Lancashire.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 19 November 2007
	There are currently 11 outstanding cases for SPS 2005.
	For SPS 2006 there are 352 claims where processing is not yet complete. 179 of these have received partial payments and RPA is continuing to process these claims to provide top up payments where applicable. Payment is yet to be made on the other 173. Many of these are complex cases involving probate, business partnership changes and domestic issues. It is likely that work on these outstanding claims will reveal some may not be eligible for payment. Where it is confirmed that payments are due, these will be made as soon as possible.
	The payment window for SPS 2007 opens on 1 December 2007.
	Detailed analysis of all the payments made under the SPS is not yet available. Once the remaining scheme payments have been completed, a decision will be taken on the level of detail that will be published.

Agriculture: Lancashire

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the value is of outstanding single payment scheme payments for the  (a) 2005,  (b) 2006 and  (c) 2007 payments in (i) Ribble Valley and (ii) Lancashire.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 19 November 2007
	The value of the outstanding single payment scheme payments for 2005 is 74,566, for 2006 it is approximately 1.7 million once the processing of these claims is complete. These figures exclude any corrections arising from the review of SPS Entitlements Statements currently taking place.
	The payment window for SPS 2007 opens on 1 December 2007.
	Detailed analysis of all the payments made under the SPS is not yet available. Once the remaining scheme payments have been completed, a decision will be taken on the level of detail that will be published.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers are awaiting payment under the single payment scheme for  (a) 2005,  (b) 2006 and  (c) 2007 payments.

Jonathan R Shaw: There are currently 11 outstanding cases for SPS 2005.
	For SPS 2006 there are 352 claims where processing is not yet complete. 179 of these have received partial payments and RPA is continuing to process these claims to provide top up payments where applicable. Payment is yet to be made on the other 173. Many of these are complex cases involving probate, business partnership changes and domestic issues. It is likely that work on these outstanding claims will reveal some may not be eligible for payment. Where it is confirmed that payments are due, these will be made as soon as possible.
	The payment window for SPS 2007 opens on 1 December 2007.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the value is of outstanding single payment scheme payments in relation to  (a) 2005,  (b) 2006 and  (c) 2007.

Jonathan R Shaw: The value of the outstanding single payment scheme payments for 2005 is 74,566 and for 2006 it is approximately 1.7 million once the processing of these claims is complete. These figures exclude any corrections arising from the review of SPS entitlements statements currently taking place.
	The payment window for SPS 2007 opens on 1 December 2007.

Animal Feed: Prices

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the likely average price of feed for the livestock sector in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The price of feed for the livestock sector is largely determined by world prices for cereals, oilseeds and other commodities. Recent price increases have been driven by a combination of factors, some of which are shorter term and introduce volatility into the market (e.g. adverse weather leading to lower production) and others of which are longer term trends (e.g. increasing use of cereals and oilseeds for food, feed and fuel uses). Current high prices, combined with policy changes such as the removal of the set-aside requirement for the 2008 harvest, will undoubtedly stimulate production and lead to a moderation of prices, but it may take a number of years to rebuild stocks to levels that markets are comfortable with. A fuller assessment can be found in our recent report Implications of rising agricultural commodity prices which can be found at:
	http://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/publications/monthly%20brief/Annex%201%20Food%20and%20farming %20brief%20-%20impact%20of%20high%20commodity %20prices.pdf
	Projecting future commodity prices and hence the price of feed for the livestock sector is uncertain. A number of international organisations produce projections, including the OECD and the EU Commission, the latest of which are given as follows. However, it should be noted that these were compiled before the recent price increases.
	OECD/FAO agricultural outlook 2007 to 2016
	http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/6/10/38893266.pdf
	EU Commission Prospects for agricultural markets and income 2007-2014
	http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/publi/caprep/prospects2007a/index_en.htm

Animal Health

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what representations his Department has received from local councils on the funding of their budgets for animal health;
	(2)  what changes are planned to the level of funding of local authority health teams; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what funding his Department has provided to local authority animal health teams in each year since 2001; and what the projected expenditure is for 2007-08.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 20 November 2007
	 I have received a number of representations from local authorities about the direct funding available from DEFRA to supplement the resources available to them under the Revenue Support Grant for work on animal health and welfare. The funding paid to local authorities under these arrangements, which started in 2002-03, has been as follows:
	
		
			   Expenditure ( million) 
			 2002-03 3.6 
			 2003-04 7 
			 2004-05 7.6 
			 2005-06 8.2 
			 2006-07 8.7 
		
	
	Local authorities submit bids annually to their local Divisional veterinary managers (DVMs), who are asked to certify that the proposed expenditure is eligible for funding. The bids are sent forward to a central point in DEFRA for authorisation.
	For 2007-08, DEFRA received bids worth 9.77 million in total. This compares with an available budget of 8.5 million, which reflects a degree of underspending in previous years. DEFRA has issued allocations within the limits of the funding available. Authorities claiming up to 11,000 will receive the full amount of their bids. Other authorities have been told that their bids will be reduced by up to 12 per cent.
	DEFRA is working with the Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS) to improve the framework agreement governing this work and to ensure that the limited resources available are used to best effect.

Animal Welfare: Codes of Practice

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  on what basis individuals were invited to be members of the working group drawing up the Code of Practice resulting from the Animal Welfare Act 2006;
	(2)  which organisation each member of the working group drawing up the Code of Practice resulting from the Animal Welfare Act 2006 represents;
	(3)  which bodies or individuals have been commissioned to provide research to assist the Working Group drawing up the code of practice resulting from the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Jonathan R Shaw: During the passage of the Animal Welfare Bill, an undertaking was given to produce three codes of practice on companion animals (dogs, cats and primates) and one on the breeding and rearing of game birds. Working groups on all four subjects are now well established.
	The hon. Member does not identify which code of practice he is referring to, but those invited on to the working groups have a particular interest or expertise on the subject of the code. They represent relevant interest groups including welfare, specialists in a particular field (such as dog or cat behaviour), industry (where there are implications for that sector) and specialist private interest groups. The meetings are chaired by a DEFRA official.
	It is essential that those involved with drawing up codes of practice are able to work constructively with others who may hold differing views.
	Only one organisation, The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (formerly The Game Conservancy Trust) has been commissioned by DEFRA to undertake research. The research is in relation to game birds and is studying the effects of the application of bits and spectacles. The results of this work are expected early in 2008 and will assist debate on the use of bits and spectacles as management tools for aggression reduction in game birds.

Avian Influenza: Suffolk

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what records he has of imports of  (a) live birds and  (b) poultry meat from (i) the Czech Republic and (ii) Germany to the area now covered by the avian influenza protection and surveillance zones within the last six weeks; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 19 November 2007
	Figures from the EU-wide computer system used to record imports of animals and their products, known as TRACES, show that no live birds were imported within the last six weeks from Germany or the Czech Republic to the area now covered by the avian influenza protection and surveillance zones.
	TRACES does not record intra-EU movements of meat and there are currently no records for poultrymeat movements for this period.
	A full epidemiological investigation is under way and all avenues into the origin of the outbreak of avian influenza near Diss are being investigated.

Avian Influenza: Suffolk

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the biosecurity arrangements in place at Redgrave Park Farm; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 19 November 2007
	Following the first report of a suspected disease outbreak at Redgrave Park Farm on 11 November, Animal Health staff made an assessment of biosecurity at these premises for disease control purposes, to ensure that all necessary biosecurity control measures were in place. Part of the ongoing epidemiological investigation is to ascertain links between premises in the area and assess the risk of possible transmission of disease. Such work routinely includes the movement of vehicles, people and commodities. It is too early to comment further at this stage. The results of the epidemiological investigation will be published in due course.

Beaches: EU Law

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the percentage of bathing waters which will be classified as  (a) poor,  (b) sufficient,  (c) good and  (d) excellent by 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Environment Agency has used its bathing water quality monitoring data from 2003 to 2006 to assess the compliance rate that might be expected in England under the revised Bathing Water Directive (see following table). These predictions are made on the assumption that no further action is taken to improve bathing water quality between now and when the first classifications under the revised Bathing Water Directive are expected to be made at the end of the 2015 bathing season. However, measures will continue to be taken in the catchments of some bathing waters to ensure they comply with the requirements of both the current and revised Bathing Water Directives.
	The following table shows the percentage of bathing waters expected to be classified as  (a) poor,  (b) sufficient,  (c) good and  (d) excellent by 2015.
	
		
			  Classification  Percentage of bathing waters 
			 Excellent 52 
			 Good 27 
			 Sufficient 13 
			 Poor 08 
			 Total 100

Beaches: EU Law

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost to business of implementing Directive 2006/7/EC on the management of bathing water quality to  (a) sufficient,  (b) good and  (c) excellent status; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: DEFRA and the Welsh Assembly Government have recently launched a public consultation, including a partial impact assessment which sets out the costs associated with the implementation of the revised Bathing Water Directive (rBWD) in England and Wales. The Government are seeking views on three possible implementation scenarios. Scenarios 1A and 1B simply aim to meet the minimum requirements of the rBWD, with all bathing waters achieving at least the 'sufficient' classification by 2015 (Scenario 1B makes use of a prediction and discounting system) and Scenario 2 explores the costs of going beyond the minimum rBWD requirements by aiming to increase the number of 'excellent' bathing waters in England and Wales. The estimated cost to business (e.g. water companies, farmers and other parties) associated with each scenario is as follows:
	
		
			   Cost ( million) 
			  Scenario  Annual  Total (PV) (25 years) 
			 1A 6.8-10 107-171 
			 1B 4.3-6.9 65-121 
			 2 (1)11.6-17.6 (1)206-380 
			 (1 )Includes scenario 1A costs

Beaches: EU Law

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which bathing waters he expects to be exempt from the requirement to achieve sufficient status by 2015 under the procedure in Article 5(4) of Directive 2006/7/EC; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Government are not proposing to exempt any designated bathing waters from meeting the 'sufficient' classification under the revised Bathing Water Directive (rBWD), since they expect that all bathing waters will achieve the 'sufficient' classification by the end of the 2015 bathing season (following the introduction of measures to improve water quality in the catchments of bathing waters currently predicted to be classified as 'poor'). The Government would only consider using the Article 5(4) provision to temporarily classify a bathing water as 'poor' and still remain in compliance with the rBWD if unforeseen circumstances arise near to 2015.

Beef: Imports

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the  (a) volume and  (b) value of beef imported from Brazil was in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by state of origin.

Jonathan R Shaw: The following table shows the value and volume of imports of beef and beef products from Brazil to the United Kingdom from 2006 to September 2007. It is not possible to break these figures down by state of origin.
	
		
			  UK imports of beef from Brazil, 2006September 2007 
			  Description  Year  Value  (000)  Tonnes 
			 Beef (including meat and offal preparations) 2006 152,553 84,516 
			  2007 (January to September) 127,295 78,056 
			  Note: 2007 data are subject to amendments  Source: H M Revenue and Customs Data prepared by Trade statistics, Agricultural Statistics and Analysis Division, DEFRA

Birds: Conservation

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UK bird Registration Scheme under section 7 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in deterring the illegal taking of high value native species from the wild.

Joan Ruddock: There is no clear evidence that bird registration has a deterrent effect on the illegal taking of high value native species from the wild for commercial sale. Such birds are also subject to stringent sales controls. Recent information from the National Wildlife Crime Unit indicates that there is minimal criminal activity in the trade of high value native species subject to bird registration, for example certain birds of prey, and such activity does not constitute a threat to their conservation.

Birds: Conservation

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely effect of a discontinuation or weakening of the UK Bird Registration Scheme under section 7 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 on levels of illegal wildlife trade.

Joan Ruddock: My Department has undertaken a public consultation on a number of possible changes to the bird registration scheme. A number of respondents to that consultation considered any discontinuation or weakening of the registration scheme may lead to increase in illegal activity. My Department is seeking further advice from the UK's nature conservation advisors, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, and others on these issues before taking a decision on any future changes to the list of birds that need to be registered.

Citizens Juries

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many citizens juries were arranged for his Department for each year between 1997 and June 2007; which organisations were commissioned to conduct each citizens jury; and what the cost was of each.

Jonathan R Shaw: Data from 1997 are not readily available in core DEFRA and would require a significant review of all engagement activities and an analysis of the techniques used, resulting in extracting costs for citizens juries at a disproportionate cost.

Cumbria

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department plans to move any of its offices to Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency.

Jonathan R Shaw: At this time the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has no proposals to move any of its offices to Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency.

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff in his Department  (a) were disciplined and  (b) had their employment terminated as a result of a poor sickness record in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The number of DEFRA staff who were disciplined or had their employment terminated or both as a result of a poor sick record in each year since 2003 is shown in the following table. The figures shown in the disciplined column includes those members of staff who were dismissed.
	
		
			   Disciplined  Dismissed 
			 2003 19 12 
			 2004 9 5 
			 2005 11 8 
			 2006 9 5 
			 2007 4 1

Departmental Flexible Working

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff  (a) have applied to work flexible hours and  (b) work flexible hours (i) in his Department and (ii) the executive agencies for which his Department is responsible.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA has in place a process to allow parents (adopters, guardians or foster carers) of children under six or of disabled children under 18, and for carers of adults, to apply to work flexibly in line with recent legislation. However, information on applications for flexible working is not held centrally and could be provided only by incurring disproportionate cost. Many requests for flexible working may be made informally between managers and staff and will not therefore be formally recorded.
	The Department believes in giving its staff every opportunity to work to a pattern that best suits their lifestyle and the demands of family and dependents. This contributes to staff welfare and ultimately to delivery of a high quality service to our customers.
	DEFRA is committed to helping its staff maintain a healthy work/life balance. This can only be achieved if employees and their managers are prepared to think creatively about working patterns so that efficient working can be combined with other responsibilities, and with employees' interests and enjoyment of life.

Departmental Manpower

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many reports have been made to his Department's nominated officers under paragraph 16 of the revised Civil Service Code since its publication on 6 June 2006;
	(2)  how many allegations of victimisation for whistleblowing have been reported to his Department by departmental staff since 6 June 2006;
	(3)  when his Department's whistleblowing procedures were reviewed to reflect the provisions in the revised Civil Service Code.

Jonathan R Shaw: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 19 November 2007,  Official Report, column 597W.

Departmental Manpower

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people aged  (a) 30 to 39,  (b) 40 to 49,  (c) 50 to 59 and  (d) 60 to 69 years have (i) applied for jobs, (ii) received interviews and (iii) gained  (A) temporary and  (B) permanent jobs in his Department in 2007.

Jonathan R Shaw: Data on the age of applicants and interviewees are not available as DEFRA does not request this information. Date of birth is requested only from successful candidates. DEFRA is committed to creating an inclusive workplace, and to ensuring that there is no discrimination on the basis of age. By not asking candidates to disclose their date of birth there is a greater degree of objectivity built in the recruitment and appointment process.
	The number of staff in each age band who gained temporary or permanent employment in DEFRA between 1 January and 19 November 2007 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Age band  Temporary  Permanent 
			 30 to 39 8 79 
			 40 to 49 6 46 
			 50 to 59 3 16 
			 60 to 69 1 0

Departmental Official Hospitality

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what entertainment or hospitality members of his Department's management board received in each of the last three financial years; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Paragraph 4.3.5 of the Civil Service Management Code sets out the rules on the registration of hospitality. The Government are committed to publishing an annual list of hospitality received by members of departmental boards. The first list for 2007 will be published as soon as it is ready after the end of the current calendar year.

Departmental Property

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent by his Department on renovation and refurbishment of its properties in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA and its agencies, excluding the Environment Agency, spent the following on renovation and refurbishment of its estate:
	
		
			   000 
			 2002-03 41,080 
			 2003-04 61,370 
			 2004-05 39,140 
			 2005-06 46,870 
			 2006-07 45,100

Devolution

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how often he has used the dispute resolution procedures under the devolution agreements; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has never used the dispute resolution procedures established under the devolution agreements.

Diesel Fuel: Excise Duties

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on fuel duty as it relates to farm machinery; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: I have had no recent discussions with my ministerial colleagues on fuel duty as it relates to farm machinery.

Fertilisers

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to reduce the regulatory burden on the fertiliser sector; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: EC law governs the regulation of the fertiliser sector and this is set out in the EC Fertilisers Regulation 2003/2003. This regulation defines the composition and definition of all fertilisers which have been approved as EC designated fertilisers, and these can be freely traded within the EU. Every importer and manufacturer must ensure any fertiliser intended for sale in the EU complies with this regulation.
	Work is under way to review and update the domestic Fertilisers Regulations 1991 which covers composition and labelling issues for fertilisers used within the UK. We are working closely with the fertiliser industry to ensure the updated regulations do not impose additional burdens on business.

Fisheries

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the discard pilot projects being undertaken by the UK.

Jonathan R Shaw: The UK and Ireland are jointly undertaking a pilot project in the Irish Sea to improve the quality of data on catches and discards in a range of fisheries. The project was approved by the European Commission on 27 August and participating vessels are therefore entitled to benefit from extra days at sea under the cod recovery programme.
	Results so far are encouraging. The Irish sea data enhancement project has increased observer coverage by at least 100 per cent.. Fishermen, trained under the project, are now regularly engaged in the provision of self-collected discard samples. However, it is too early in the programme to fully evaluate the utility of these data.
	The next step will be to apply data validation techniques, contrasting fishermen's records with observer data, and increase the number of participating vessels at the earliest possible opportunity.

Fisheries

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which organisations he has consulted on the European Commission Communication Fishing Opportunities for 2008: Policy Statement from the European Commission (COM(2007) 295 final); and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The document was copied to the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO) and English producer organisations as well as a number of other stakeholders, including a range of environmental groups. Similar consultations were carried out in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Fisheries

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the proposals contained in the European Commission Communication Fishing Opportunities for 2008: Policy Statement from the European Commission (COM(2007) 295 final); and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The statement does not contain any formal Commission proposals. These are not expected to emerge until later this month.

Fisheries

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what the total amount of fish landed by the 10 metre and under fleet was in each fishery in each year since 1997, expressed in  (a) tonnes and  (b) as a percentage of the UK quota available for that fishery; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what quota was allocated to the 10 metre and under fishing fleet in each year since 1997, broken down by fishing area, expressed in  (a) tonnes and  (b) a proportion of the total UK quota for that fishery area; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Information for 2006 is in Table 1. However, focusing on such an analysis can be misleading, as some of the quota stocks included are of little interest to inshore vessels. In addition, many of these vessels catch types of fish, such as crabs and scallops, which are not subject to quotas and they are thus not subject to the constraints on their activity that may be seen when targeting quota species. Figures for landings of non-quota stocks are included at the foot of the table and show that 20 per cent. of all landings by the UK 10 metre and under fleet are of quota stocks. In addition, the degree to which quota species are important for these vessels varies around the coast. Table 2 shows more detail for landings by 10 metre and under vessels administered from English ports, and shows that in some areas quota stocks make up a small proportion of the total value of fish landed by such vessels.
	Similar results for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Table 1: Stocks fished by the UK's 10 metre and under fleet( 1) , 2006 
			   UK quota as at 31 December (tonnes)  10 metre and under fleet's quota as at 31 December (tonnes)  Percentage of UK quota  Landings by the 10 metre and under fleet (tonnes)  Percentage of UK quota 
			  Quota Stocks  
			 Anglers 7 (incl. 8abde) 4,907.1 218.3 4 164.8 3 
			 North Sea Anglers 9,509.0 10.2 0 10.2 0 
			 West of Scotland Anglers 1,818.5 2.4 0 0.5 0 
			 Blue Whiting I-VIII, XII, XIV 80,179.0 0.0 0 0.3 0 
			 Cod 7a 1,027.9 19.1 2 7.8 1 
			 Cod 7b-k 688.9 278.9 40 290.7 42 
			 North Sea Cod 8,356.9 167.4 2 204.8 2 
			 West of Scotland Cod 455.7 11.5 3 0.1 0 
			 North Sea Dabs/Flounders 2,218.0 17.6 1 15.3 1 
			 Haddock 7 1,154.0 35.0 3 24.4 2 
			 North Sea Haddock 39,053.0 69.8 0 34.5 0 
			 West of Scotland Haddock 6,950.7 11.0 0 0.3 0 
			 Hake 6 and 7 (incl. 8abde) 3,849.6 30.0 1 2.4 0 
			 North Sea Hake 325.6 1.4 0 1.4 0 
			 Herring 4c/7d 5,246.0 61.0 1 68.9 1 
			 Herring 7a (Manx and Mourne) 4,237.9 0.0 0 0.8 0 
			 Herring 7ef 488.0 151.0 31 87.5 18 
			 North Sea Herring 69,010.9 0.0 0 0.2 0 
			 North Sea Horse Mackerel 3,917.0 0.0 0 0.2 0 
			 West Coast Horse Mackerel 11,101.1 6.0 0 5.9 0 
			 North Sea Lemon Sole/Witches 3,430.8 36.0 1 33.1 1 
			 Deep Sea Ling IV 2,941.8 2.5 0 2.5 0 
			 Deep Sea Ling VI-X, XII, XIV 5,060.3 54.7 1 46.7 1 
			 North Sea Mackerel 414.1 333.0 80 425.3 103 
			 West Coast Mackerel 103,167.9 90.2 0 90.5 0 
			 Megrim 7 2,917.9 42.9 1 13.4 0 
			 West of Scotland Megrim 903.0 5.0 1 0.4 0 
			 Nephrops 7 7,924.7 155.1 2 87.6 1 
			 North Sea Nephrops 24,431.7 1,515.2 6 1,497.7 6 
			 West of Scotland Nephrops 18,504.9 2,262.7 12 1,808.1 10 
			 Plaice 7a 707.0 81.2 11 72.5 10 
			 Plaice 7de 1,643.7 437.5 27 427.7 26 
			 Plaice 7fg 118.9 35.9 30 34.3 29 
			 North Sea Plaice 12,651.2 58.5 0 58.4 0 
			 West of Scotland Plaice 477.0 5.0 1 0.2 0 
			 Pollack 7 2,658.0 306.3 12 271.7 10 
			 West of Scotland Pollack 165.0 5.0 3 0.2 0 
			 Saithe 7 726.0 13.8 2 5.3 1 
			 North Sea Saithe 9,379.0 14.8 0 10.0 0 
			 North Sea Skates and Rays 1,695.0 195.8 12 181.1 11 
			 Sole 7a 225.6 20.2 9 10.7 5 
			 Sole 7d 1,215.0 464.9 38 419.1 34 
			 Sole 7e 566.0 44.2 8 46.2 8 
			 Sole 7fg 274.1 33.0 12 31.4 11 
			 North Sea Sole 1,255.6 257.0 20 235.0 19 
			 West of Scotland Sole 14.0 0.1 1 0.1 1 
			 Sprat 7de 3,226.0 7.8 0 0.5 0 
			 North Sea Sprat 4,944.0 137.8 3 92.3 2 
			 North Sea Spurdog 778.0 8.9 1 6.9 1 
			 North Sea Turbot/Brill 551.0 15.2 3 15.3 3 
			 Whiting 7a 188.9 2.6 1 0.8 0 
			 Whiting 7b-k 2,288.5 162.8 7 102.2 4 
			 North Sea Whiting 11,733.1 312.2 3 337.4 3 
			   
			 Total Quota Stocks 481,672.5 8,208.5 2 7,285.6 2 
			   
			 Total Non-Quota Stocks n/a n/a n/a 28,600.0 n/a 
			   
			 Total All Species n/a n/a n/a 35,885.6 n/a 
			 (1) Excludes vessels which are members of producer organisations. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: 10 metre and under landings( 1)  by English port of administration, 2006 
			   Total landings  Quota landings  
			  Administration Port  Tonnes  000  Tonnes  000  Value of quota 
			 North Shields 1,724 5,520 1,088 2,852 52 
			 Scarborough 895 3,178 80 130 4 
			 Grimsby 885 2,561 6 10 0 
			 Lowestoft 1,709 3,314 487 1,463 44 
			 Hastings 5,925 6,944 1,188 3,502 50 
			 Poole 4,118 5,642 130 574 10 
			 Plymouth 1,163 2,078 324 548 26 
			 Newlyn 3,884 6,994 1,535 1,828 26 
			 Brixham 2,068 2,988 280 678 23 
			 Fleetwood 217 437 54 111 25 
			   
			 Total 22,588 39,656 5,173 11,698 29 
			 (1) Total quantity and value of landings reported by vessels involved in commercial sea fishing reported to UK Fisheries Administrations, excluding landings by vessels that are members of producer organisations.

Fisheries

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  by what method he calculates the maximum sustainable yield for each UK fishery; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effort reduction necessary in each UK fishery to ensure that maximum sustainable yield targets are met; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Maximum sustainable yield (MSY) derives from classical fisheries science which states that in the long-term there is an average maximum catch that can be obtained from a stock, without threatening its future viability. This is achieved by fishing at the MSY level (MSYL). This level varies with both the biology (growth and mortality rates) of the stock in question and the fishing practices (including mesh size) used to catch it. The MSY will also depend upon the productivity of the stock. For most of our stocks, the MSYL is at relatively low fishing mortalitytypically much lower than exists at present.
	Reducing effort to MSY levels implies smaller catches in the short-term, with potential impacts on profitability and the size of the fleet. In the longer-term, however, fishing at MSY levels should ensure greater profitability (catches-per-unit-effort would be higher), improved sustainability and a more robust stock.
	Several stocks are currently at or around MSY and can therefore be the continued basis for sustainable fisheries; for example, haddock and saithe. However, we are seeking to develop a common understanding with stakeholders of how we can best approach the issue of long-term management and the role of MSY more generally. In particular, there are significant potential socio-economic consequences with such an approach and it is important to ensure that the UK fishing industry has a sustainable long-term future. We will need to consider carefully how best to achieve a successful balance between stock conservation and fishing opportunity and the appropriate time frame(s) for this process.

Fisheries: Navy

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the reasons for the reduction in the number of boardings by the Fisheries Protection Squadron (FPS) from 1746 in 1997 to 1279 in 2006; what the number of boardings were per FPS  (a) vessel and  (b) sortie in each such year; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The reduction in the number of inspections at sea since 1997 can largely be attributed to:
	(a) a reduction in the overall number of fishing vessels in the European fleet;
	(b) a reduction in the number of patrol days; and
	(c) a progressive move to a more targeted approach to inspection.
	The number of inspections per patrol vessel is set out below for 1999 and 2006. Information on the number of inspections per vessel for 1997 and on the number of inspections per sortie is not readily available.
	
		
			  Inspections per vessel 1999( 1) 
			   Number  Vessel 
			 Leeds Castle 164 OPV 
			 Alderney 217 OPV 
			 Anglesey 39 OPV 
			 Guernsey 247 OPV 
			 Lindisfarne 222 OPV 
			 Orkney 169 OPV 
			 Shetland 187 OPV 
			 Berkeley 177 IPV 
			 Bicester 135 IPV 
			 Brocklesby 121 IPV 
			 Middleton 113 IPV 
			 Quorn 31 IPV 
			 Total 1,822  
			 (1) Collated from local records including inspections not recorded on Database. 
		
	
	
		
			  Inspections per vessel 2006 
			   Number  Vessel 
			 Mersey 346 OPV 
			 Severn 306 OPV 
			 Tyne 373 OPV 
			 Cattistock 76 IPV 
			 Chiddingfold 75 IPV 
			 Hurworth 3 IPV 
			 Ledbury 59 IPV 
			 Quorn 41 IPV 
			 Total 1,279 IPV 
			 OPV =( )Offshore patrol vessel IPV = Inshore patrol vessel

Fisheries: Navy

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many patrol days have been lost for the River Class offshore patrol vessels as a result of  (a) routine maintenance,  (b) non-routine maintenance and  (c) repairs in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: I have been asked to reply.
	No patrol days have been lost by the River Class Offshore Patrol Vessels during the last 12 months. Each vessel undergoes two planned routine maintenance periods each year: one of nine days duration and one of 16 days duration. During the last 12 months all non-routine maintenance and repairs were carried out within the routine maintenance periods or at other times when the vessels were not engaged on operational duties.

Fisheries: Navy

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for how many patrol days each class of Fisheries Protection Squadron vessel will be available in each year of the new agreement beginning on 1 April 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: I have been asked to reply.
	Under the new Fisheries Protection Agreement between the MOD and DEFRA, which is due to begin on 1 April 2008, the River Class Offshore Patrol Vessels will be available for a total of 700 days during the first 12 months of the agreement. Thereafter, their availability will be between 650 and 750 days in each year. Each River class vessel will also undergo two planned routine maintenance periods each year: one of nine days duration and one of 16 days duration. The Hunt Class Mine Countermeasure vessels will also provide additional Fishery Protection duties, as and when required, although they will not be contracted to provide a set number of days.

Fisheries: Navy

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on which dates there have been no Royal Navy Fishery Protection Squadron offshore patrol vessels in operation in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: During the period 1 November 2006 to 31 October 2007, the dates when no River class patrol vessels were in operation on fisheries protection duties are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Date(s)  Reason 
			 November 2006 5, 16 2 day stand off 
			 December 2006 15, 16, 21-31 2 day stand off and 11 days Christmas leave 
			 January 2007 1, 2, 15, 16, 30,31 2 day Christmas leave and 2 days stand off 
			 February 2007 1, 2 COs conference 
			 March 2007 12, 13, 23, 24 2 day stand off and 2 days at Chatham Conference 
			 April 2007 27, 28  
			 May 2007 11, 12, 26, 27 4 day stand off 
			 June 2007 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 Davit failureall Rivers recalled for rectification 
			 July 2007 0  
			 August 2007 3, 4 2 day stand off 
			 September 2007 0  
			 October 2007 11  
			  Summary: 14 daysstand offs in the middle of patrols 13 daysChristmas leaveno vessels or aircraft tasked 4 daysattendance at conferences 5 daysDavit failureall Rivers recalled 5 daysNo Rivers 41 daystotal days no Rivers on task

Fisheries: Northern Ireland

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development on the upcoming fisheries negotiations in Brussels; and whether an agreed strategy has been drawn up.

Jonathan R Shaw: I have had a number of recent discussions with the Northern Ireland Minister and her Welsh and Scottish counterparts about the forthcoming negotiations and we have just agreed a series of UK priorities for them, reflecting our respective interests. We will revisit them in the light of the Commission proposals when these emerge.

Food

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will amend the guidance given in the Government's Code for Sustainable Procurement to give greater weight to the procurement of locally produced food and drink.

Jonathan R Shaw: I assume my hon. Friend is referring to the guidance on the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (PSFPI).
	The legal framework governing public procurement does not allow public bodies to give greater weight to locally produced food and drink when awarding contracts. This is because public bodies are required to ensure public procurement is fair, transparent and not used to discriminate by setting up barriers to free trade. It would also reduce competition contrary to UK public procurement policy that is designed to achieve value for money for the taxpayer.
	The legal and policy framework does provide public bodies with plenty of flexibility to be innovative in their procurement and, for example, we are encouraging them through the PSFPI to increase tendering opportunities for small and local producers. How they can do this is explained in the advice on the PSFPI website, including our recently published guide Putting it into practice on the guidance page at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/policy/sustain/procurement/guidance.htm.

Food: Prices

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the effects of the increasing cost of fuel on food prices.

Jonathan R Shaw: Research to assess the impact of rising oil prices on farming and the wider food chain was published by the Sustainable Development Commission on 19 November and can be found on their website.
	One of the illustrative findings of this study is that a rise in the oil price from $50 (the average price seen in 2005) to $100 a barrel (which is just above current levels) would lead to an increase in household food expenditure of around 3 billion. This equates to an increase of 4 per cent. within a total spend of 79 billion, and presumes that all increased energy costs would be passed on to consumers. However, we might expect an increase in household expenditure of between roughly 5 per cent to 10 per cent. if all costs are passed on to consumers and secondary impacts are allowed for.
	To further help put the impact of increasing fuel costs into context, it can be noted that oil prices more than tripled in the five years to October 2007 to over $80 a barrel, whereas retail food prices increased by 12.6 per cent. over the same period.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to assess whether there is a requirement to amend  (a) UK and  (b) EU legislation on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), to take account of genetic use restriction technologies and to ensure it is in compliance with the Convention on Biological Diversity decision V/5.

Phil Woolas: The provisions of the current EU regulatory regime are in compliance with decision V/5 of the Convention on Biological Diversity. This decision recommends that products incorporating gene use restriction technologies should not be approved for field testing until justified by appropriate scientific data. Such products for commercial use should not be approved until appropriate authorised and strictly controlled scientific assessments, with regard to ecological and socio-economic impacts and any adverse effects for biological diversity, food security and human health, have been carried out in a transparent manner and the conditions for their safe and beneficial use validated.

Miscanthus Grass: Subsidies

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for how many acres of miscanthus grass  (a) the South West and  (b) Devon are currently in receipt of agricultural subsidies; and how much such subsidies amounted to in each of the last two years.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 19 November 2007
	Grant aid for the costs associated with establishing miscanthus is paid under the energy crops scheme (ECS). The areas of miscanthus receiving grant aid and the amounts paid under ECS in the south west as a whole and Devon specifically in 2006 and 2007 were as follows:
	
		
			   Area (ha)  Amount () 
			  (a)  The South West   
			 2006 34.88 32,089.60 
			 2007 677.19 623,014.80 
			
			  (b)  Devon   
			 2006 0 0 
			 2007 5.73 5,271.60 
		
	
	The following table sets out the hectarage of miscanthus on which energy aid is paid in the south west:
	
		
			  Hectares 
			  County  2006  2007 
			 Gloucestershire 72.44 24.90 
			 Avon 5.10 108.21 
			 Wiltshire 16.29 24.25 
			 Isles of Scilly 28.02 0 
			 Somerset 94.32 385.22 
			 Total 216.17 542.58

Pollution: Fines

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was levied in fines by local authorities for incidences of pollution against  (a) companies,  (b) local authorities and  (c) individuals for each type of pollution incidence in each financial year since 2000, broken down by (i) region and (ii) fine.

Jonathan R Shaw: The total value of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs), issued by local authorities, by English region for noise related offences in 2004-05 and 2005-06, is shown in the following table. FPNs issued for noise under the Noise Act 1996 can currently only be issued for night noise from domestic premises, which excludes companies.
	
		
			  Fine total 
			   
			  Region  2004-05  2005-06 
			 South East 100 100 
			 North West 4  
			 North East 56 1,500 
			 West Midlands 1,500  
			 East of England 2  
			 Yorkshire and Humber  100 
			 Total 1,672 1,700 
		
	
	The Department does not hold data for offences from 2000 to 2003. Information on the number of FPNs issued by local authorities to businesses and individuals for local environmental quality offences is published on the DEFRA website.
	Data for 2006-07 will be published shortly.
	The Clean Air Act provides for fines for various offences which are all enforced by local authorities through magistrates courts. However, DEFRA does not collect these data.
	For contaminated land, Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 provides for fines, levied through the courts, where a person fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with any of the requirements of a remediation notice. Any convictions for such offences are contained on a register maintained by the enforcing authority. DEFRA does not collect these data centrally.
	Total fines imposed by the courts for offences under the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations, where local authorities are the regulator, are shown as follows.
	
		
			  Fines imposed 
			   
			  Region  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 North East   
			 North West   500.00 23,000.00 475.00 22,500.00 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 5,500.00 10,500.00 9,500.00 4,500.00  4,500.00 
			 West Midlands 2,000.00 15,000.00   237,820.00 23,000.00 
			 East Midlands   4,000.00 30,000.00 8,000.00  
			 East of England 72,400.00  2,500.00  2,000.00  
			 Wales  8,000.00 2,000.00 2,000.00  750.00 
			 London   21,116.00
			 South East  29,000.00 
			 South West 7,250.00  
			 Total 87,150.00 62,500.00 39,616.00 59,500.00 248,295.00 50,750.00 
		
	
	Our annual statistical reports, which contain details of each recorded prosecution, can be found on the DEFRA website.
	Further data on fines levied by local authorities for other pollution incidents could be collated only at disproportionate cost.

Poultry

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many mobile gassing units are available to cull poultry; and what the slaughter capacity is of each.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 20 November 2007
	 DEFRA has 50 containerised gassing units available to cull poultry. Operationally the units are run in pairs. The capacity of each unit depends on the size and weight of the birds being culled and the speed they are caught at.
	Under good conditions a throughput of 10,000 kg liveweight per hour per pair of units is possible. This can fall to around 4,000 kg per hour at more difficult field sites.

Veterinary Laboratories Agency: New Haw

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of research staff at the New Haw Laboratory were  (a) on permanent contracts,  (b) on temporary contracts and  (c) employed via an employment agency in each of the last five years; what projection he has made of the equivalent proportions in 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The staff in the Research Division of the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) at New Haw as at 1 April each year are as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Permanent  Casual  Temporary Agency 
			 2003 97 3  
			 2004 98 2  
			 2005 98 2  
			 2006 98 2  
			 2007 96 4 Less than 1 
		
	
	Details of the temporary staff prior to 2007 are not available as VLA only took responsibility for liaising with temporary agencies with effect from 1 April 2007.
	For 2008 we would not expect to see any material change to the figures that are shown for previous years.

Wheat: Prices

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the financial impact of the increased price of wheat on farmers; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The increase in UK wheat prices reflects the rise in global wheat prices following two successive smaller world-harvests and increasing demand for cereals for food, feed and fuel purposes. The impact, in financial terms, will differ across the farming sectors, as explained in our recent report Implications of rising agricultural commodity prices. A copy of this report is available on the DEFRA website.
	Projections of the aggregate measure of Total Income from Farming have been published on the DEFRA website and the first full set of farm income statistics, including a breakdown by farm type, will be published at the end of January.

TREASURY

Balance of Trade: EU Countries

Peter Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the UK's trade balance with other EU member states was in 2006-07; what the UK's trade balance with those countries in goods and services was in that year; and what proportion those figures represent of the UK's overall trade balance in each case.

Kitty Ussher: The UK had a total trade deficit of 32 billion with the EU27 in 2006. This was made up of a trade in goods deficit of 32 billion and a trade in services deficit of just 6 million. The UK's total trade deficit with the rest of the world was 48 billion in 2006. This was made up of a trade in goods deficit of 78 billion and a trade in services surplus of about 29 billion.

Balance of Trade: EU Countries

Peter Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the UK's trade balance with other member states of the European Economic Community (EEC) was in the first 12 months after the UK joined the EEC as expressed in the value of the pound in 2007; what that balance was in  (a) trade in goods and  (b) trade in services; and what proportion these figures represented of the UK's trade balance in each case.

Kitty Ussher: The UK had a total trade deficit of 2.2 billion (1974 prices) with the EEC in 1974 (the first year after joining in 1973). This is based on IMF data, which do not give a breakdown between goods and services, or allow for the figure to be expressed in the value of the pound in 2007. This is 33 per cent. of the total trade deficit the UK had with the entire world, which was 6.7 billion.

Bank Melli

William Hague: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 15 November 2007,  Official Report, column 396W, on Bank Melli, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Treasury Guidance to Financial Institutions on the Financial Action Task Force statement on Iran.

Kitty Ussher: A Treasury advisory notice was issued on 12 October 2007 and is available on the Treasury website at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/newsroom_and_speeches/press/2007/press_108_07.cfm

Capital Gains Tax

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the revenue implications of taxing capital gains at the same marginal rates as income tax from April 2008.

Jane Kennedy: The revenue yield from taxing all capital gains at the income tax rates announced for 2008-09, without applying taper relief or indexation allowance, would be of the order of 3.5 billion a year by comparison with the current (2007-08) regime. This is a broad estimate that assumes continuation of the tax-free annual exempt amount and takes into account the likely taxpayer response to the change.

Child Benefit

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what mechanisms exist to ensure that child benefit payments are made only to claimants with a legitimate claim; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The conditions of entitlement to child benefit are laid down by legislation. Associated statutory rules provide the basis for deciding who is to be treated as entitled where more than one person claims child benefit in respect of the same child for the same week. Inquiries are made of the claimants in such cases before any decision is made. Where there are inconsistencies in the evidence presented by either claimant, verification may be sought from third parties.

Child Benefit

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to review the effectiveness of the current system for allocation and payment of child benefit in circumstances where multiple claimants are unable to agree who should receive payment; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Child benefit is awarded to the person with the main responsibility for a child. Parents may choose which of them will receive the payments, and if no agreement is reached, HM Revenue and Customs is responsible for determining entitlement, based on the facts in individual cases. There is no provision for splitting child benefit and child tax credit, although in families with two or more children, parents can agree to each claim in respect of different children.
	To meet the Government's child poverty target, it is necessary to focus financial support in a way that enables the parent with main caring responsibilities to provide for the child's needs. The Government will continue to listen to parents and representative groups regarding the best way to support families with children.

Child Benefit: Eastbourne

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the proportion of recipients of child benefit in Eastbourne constituency who draw the benefit from post offices.

Jane Kennedy: HM Revenue and Customs estimate that in August 2006 6 per cent. of child benefit claimants in Eastbourne constituency were paid using a Post Office card account.

Child Benefit: EU Nationals

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what checks are carried out to confirm eligibility of claim for child benefit made by citizens of other EU member states residing in the UK and whose children are not in the UK.

Jane Kennedy: A person making a claim for child benefit must provide documentary evidence of the child being claimed for, such as an original birth certificate, adoption certificate or passport.
	All claims for child benefit are subject to a wide range of checks throughout the life of each claim. It would be inappropriate to disclose a complete list as to do so may provide assistance to those attempting to defraud the system.
	Where claims are made on behalf of children living in another member state, HMRC do further checks to verify the information provided by the claimant, including verifying the composition of the family and to find out whether there are any other family benefits in payment in the other member state. HMRC and other member states have well established processes in place to ensure payments only go to those who are entitled.

Child Benefit: Expenditure

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the additional annual cost of paying child benefit from the 29th week of pregnancy from April 2009.

Jane Kennedy: Child benefit can only be claimed after the birth of a child. There is no provision for child benefit to be claimed before a child is born.
	The Government are introducing from April 2009 a separate payment to expectant mothers to help them during the important last weeks of pregnancy. Annual costs for the one-off payment, known as the Health in Pregnancy Grant, are estimated to be 145 million. In the first year they will be higher at approximately 175 million. These estimates have been updated to take account of Office for National Statistics 2006-based national population projections published on 23 October 2007.

Departmental ICT

Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which manufacturers' software is used in his Department.

Angela Eagle: The Treasury's core software systems include:
	Microsoft
	Oracle
	Adobe
	Citrix
	Northgate HR Ltd.
	SumTotal Systems
	Decisys
	Morse
	IntegratedFM
	Open Text
	City Financials

Departmental Orders and Regulations

Alan Duncan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many statutory instruments his Department laid before Parliament between 2 May 1997 and 27 June 2007.

Angela Eagle: Our records show that 1,311 statutory instruments were made by the Treasury in the period concerned. How many of these instruments were laid before both Houses of Parliament or before the House of Commons could be determined only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pay

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in his Department were paid over 100,000 in each year since 1997.

Angela Eagle: The reporting of individual earnings over the period requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Salaries of senior staff are reported in the annual Treasury resource accounts, copies of which are in the Library or accessible via the Treasury public website.

Economic Situation

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the output per head of population in the  (a) Scottish and  (b) English economy was in each year since 1997.

Andy Burnham: Data on gross value added by region and country are published by ONS. Data for years from 1997 can be found in table 12.1 of the ONS publication Regional Trends published in 2006 at:
	www.statistics.gov.uk.

Exports: EU Countries

Peter Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) total value,  (b) value of goods and  (c) value of services of the UK's exports to other EU member states was in 2006-07; and what percentage of the UK's exports in that year these figures represent.

Kitty Ussher: In 2006 the value of total UK exports to the EU27 was 20 billion. Of this 15 billion was exports of goods and 5 billion was exports of services. In 2006 the EU27 accounted for 55 per cent. of total exports, 63 per cent. of goods exports and 41 per cent. of services exports.

Exports: EU Countries

Peter Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value was of the UK's exports to other European Economic Community (EEC) member states  (a) in total,  (b) in goods and  (c) in services expressed by the value of the pound in 2007 in the first 12 months after the UK joined the EEC.

Kitty Ussher: The value of UK exports to the EEC in 1974 was 5.5 billion (1974 prices). This is based on IMF data, which do not give a breakdown between goods and services, or allow for the figure to be expressed in the value of the pound in 2007. This is 33 per cent. of the total value of UK exports in 1974, which was 16.8 billion.

Foreign Workers: European Union

Tony Baldry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of jobs which were filled in the  (a) Oxford and  (b) Banbury travel to work area by EU migrant workers in each of the last three years.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 26 November 2007:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question on jobs filled by EU migrant workers in the Oxford and Banbury travel-to-work areas. (167170).
	The Office for National Statistics compiles statistics on employment for local areas from the annual Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
	The National Statistics method for estimating the number of migrant workers employed in the UK is routinely based on the number of people at a given time who were born abroad, are of working age (16 to 64 for men, 16 to 59 for women) and in employment. This question has been answered on this basis. It means, for example, that some people who are UK nationals will be included in the total of foreign born and that people who are working but are above state pension age are not included.
	The table attached shows the numbers of working-age people in employment who were born in EU countries other than the UK and were resident in the Oxford and Banbury travel-to-work areas, for the 12 month period ending in December of each year from 2004 to 2006.
	When interpreting these figures, it is important to bear in mind that the APS is not designed to cover everyone who is present in the UK. The survey may undercount the numbers of people who were born overseas. The reasons are set out in the table footnote.
	The APS estimates at this detailed level are only available consistent with population estimates published in February and March 2003 and are not comparable with the statistics published in the Labour Market Statistics First Release on 14 November 2007, which are based on the latest population estimates.
	
		
			  Number of working-age( 1 ) people born In EU countries (other than the UK)( 2)  who are in employment and are resident in Banbury and Oxford travel-to-work areas( 3) 
			  Thousand 
			  12  months ending in December  Banbury TTWA  Oxford TTWA 
			 2004 1 9 
			 2005 (4) 2 
			 2006 1 11 
			 (1) Men aged 16 to 64 and women aged 16 to 59.  (2) Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Irish Republic, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia.  (3) Travel-to-work areas (TTWAs) are approximations of self-contained labour markets based on commuting to work patterns.  (4) Less than 500 people.   Notes:  1. It should also be noted that the APS may undercount the numbers of people who were born overseas because :- the survey excludes certain people who have been resident in the UK for less than six months; it excludes students in halls who do not have a UK resident parent; it excludes people in most other types of communal establishments (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites, etc); it is weighted to population estimates which exclude migrants staying for less than 12 months; APS microdata are weighted to population estimates consistent with those published in spring 2003 which are significantly lower than the latest population estimates.  2. As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin or uncertainty.  Source:  Annual Population Survey

Health in Pregnancy Grant

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether A8 nationals resident in the UK will be eligible for the proposed health in pregnancy grant.

Jane Kennedy: The Government are introducing from April 2009 a one-off payment to expectant mothers, known as the Health in Pregnancy Grant, to help them during the important last weeks of pregnancy. Only women ordinarily resident in the UK will be able to claim the payment.

Hotels: Industrial Buildings Allowances

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the average change in income to hotel businesses which were claiming the Industrial Buildings Allowance of its retrospective withdrawal.

Jane Kennedy: The withdrawal of the Industrial Buildings Allowance (IBA) is part of a package of measures which also saw the reduction of the main rate of corporation tax and the introduction of a 50,000 Annual Investment Allowance, allowing 95 per cent. of businesses to write off all their expenditure on plant and machinery in the year in which it is made. The effect of this package will vary according to the particular circumstances of a business.

Immigration Controls: Revenue and Customs

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many HM Revenue and Customs staff he expects to be transferred to the Border Security Force.

Jane Kennedy: The number of staff to be transferred has not yet been determined.

International Monetary Fund

William Hague: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals the UK has put forward for the reform of the  (a) International Monetary Fund and  (b) World Bank; and if he will place in the Library copies of relevant submissions.

Kitty Ussher: The Government attach a high priority to reform of the International Financial Institutions.
	Progress towards our objectives with the IMF is set out annually in The UK and the IMF, published by HM Treasury. This report is available in the House of Commons Library.
	The UK's main proposals for the reform of the World Bank are set out on page 114 of the Government's 2006 White Paper on International Development, copies of which are in the Library. Good progress has been secured against these proposals.
	More details of the UK's work with the World Bank are available in the regular publication The UK and the World Bank. Copies of the latest version will be placed in the House of Commons Library this month.

Members: Correspondence

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to reply to the letters from the right hon. Member for North East-Hampshire of 21 August and 19 June 2007 on the tax credit problems of the right hon. Member's constituent Mrs. Thayre.

Jane Kennedy: I understand that the two letters in question were addressed to the Chairman of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and that he wrote to the right hon. Gentlemen in reply on 22 November.
	Although it is HM Revenue and Customs practice to reply to the majority of letters from Members within three weeks, following the administrative issue I referred to in my statement of 25 July 2007 , Official Report, columns 62-3WS, some parts of HMRC's tax credits business have been subject to delays. HMRC regret this and will continue to try to deal with all cases as quickly as possible.

Members: Correspondence

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the reasons are for his Department setting 25 December as the date by which to reply to the letter of 21 June from the hon. Member for Bassetlaw;
	(2)  by what means his Department plans to reply to the letter of 21 June from the hon. Member for Bassetlaw, on tax credits, as stated in the letter of 16 October to the hon. Member.

Jane Kennedy: Following the administrative issue I referred to in my statement of 25 July 2007,  Official Report, columns 62-63WS, some parts of HMRC's tax credits business have, unfortunately, been subject to delays. HMRC regret this and will continue to try to deal with all cases as quickly as they can.
	These delays are a result of HMRC having to look again at cases potentially affected by the procedural error and to ensure that households/individuals affected by the error are not given incorrect advice in advance of their award being reviewed. The date indicated in the recent letter to the hon. Member was intended to be helpful and indicate the latest date by which HMRC hoped to have resolved the inquiry.
	HMRC wrote a letter to the hon. Member on 18 October 2007 in reply to his letter of the 21 June 2007.

Migrant Workers: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of migrant workers there were in West Chelmsford constituency in each of the last five years.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 26 November 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on migrant workers in West Chelmsford constituency. (166240)
	The Office for National Statistics compiles statistics on employment for local areas from the annual Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
	The data for analysing migrant workers comes from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The National Statistics method for estimating the number of migrant workers employed in the UK is routinely based on the number of people at a given time who were born abroad, are of working age (16 - 64 for men, 16 - 59 for women), and in employment. This question has been answered on this basis. It means, for example, that some people who are UK nationals will be included in the total of foreign born and that people who are working but are above state pension age are not included.
	When interpreting these figures, it is important to bear in mind that the annual LFS and APS is not designed to cover everyone who is present in the UK. The survey may undercount the numbers of people who were born overseas. The reasons are set out in the table footnote.
	The annual LFS and APS estimates at this detailed level are only available consistent with population estimates published in February and March 2003 and are not comparable with the estimates published in the Labour Market Statistics First Release on 14 November 2007, which are based on latest population estimates.
	The table attached, shows the numbers of working age in employment who were not born in the UK and were resident in West Chelmsford, for the twelve month periods ending in February for 2003 and 2004 from the annual LFS, and for the twelve month periods ending in March 2005, March 2006 and December 2006 from the APS (the January to December 2006 APS dataset is the most recent for which information on country of birth is currently available).
	The table also shows the numbers of non-UK born persons in employment as percentages of all persons of working age in employment, in the area.
	As these estimates are for a subset of the population in small geographical areas, they are based on small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty. In this case, the sample sizes are not sufficient to give an accurate estimate of even the direction of the change over time.
	
		
			  Number of non-UK born persons of working age( 1)  in employment in the West Chelmsford constituency 
			  12 months ending  Employment level (thousand)  Non-UK born persons in employment as percentage of all in employment (percentage) 
			 March 2003 3 7 
			 March 2004 4 7 
			 March 2005 5 9 
			 March 2006 5 10 
			 December 2006 4 9 
			 (1) Includes males aged 16 to 64 and females aged 16 to 59.  Notes: 1. Estimates are subject to sampling variability. 2. It should also be noted that the country of birth question in the LFS gives an undercount because: it excludes certain people who have not been resident in the UK for six months. it excludes students in halls who do not have a UK resident parent. it excludes people in most other types of communal establishments (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites, etc). it is grossed to population estimates which exclude migrants staying for less than 12 months. microdata are grossed to population estimates consistent with those published in spring 2003 which are significantly lower than the latest population estimates.  Source: Annual Population survey

Minimum Wage

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employers have been  (a) prosecuted and  (b) convicted of paying employees below the minimum wage in (i) the UK, (ii) the North East and (iii) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland in each of the last 10 years.

Jane Kennedy: There have been no employers prosecuted for failure to pay workers the national minimum wage. Since the minimum wage was introduced in April 1999 the focus has been on ensuring that workers receive the minimum wage and any arrears they are due. In total, just over 28 million in arrears has been identified for workers by national minimum wage compliance teams.
	HMRC are now investigating a range of cases with a view to criminal prosecution. In August 2007 and October 2007 two employers were successfully prosecuted for obstruction and for neglecting to answer any question during minimum wage investigations.

Pay: Young People

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average wage was for persons aged between 16 and 25 years  (a) in total,  (b) for those with higher education qualifications and (c) for those without higher education qualifications in (i) Cornwall, (ii) each parliamentary constituency in Cornwall, (iii) the south-west and (iv) England in each year since 1979.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 26 November 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the average earnings of young people with and without higher education qualifications. (166710)
	The attached table gives the average gross weekly earnings of full-time employees aged 16-24, with and without higher education qualifications, resident in Cornwall, the South West region and England. The figures shown are estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for the three month period ending June of each year. This information is not available for periods prior to 1997. The LFS sample is too small to provide estimates for each constituency within Cornwall. The survey does not collect information about the earnings of self-employed people.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of
	uncertainty.
	
		
			  Table 1: Average gross weekly earnings of full-time( 1)  employees aged 16 to 24, with and without higher education qualifications, by area of residence, not seasonally adjusted 
			
			   Mean gross weekly earnings 
			  Three months ending June  With higher education qualifications( 2)  Without higher education qualifications( 2)  Total( 3) 
			 County of Cornwall and Isles of Scilly(4) 
			 1997 (5) 166 166 
			 1998 (6) (6) (6) 
			 1999 (5) 173 186 
			 2000 (6) (6) (6) 
			 2001 (5) 177 190 
			 2002 (5) 272 272 
			 2003 (5) 173 173 
			 2004 (5) (5) (5) 
			 2005 (5) 212 212 
			 2006 (5) 220 220 
			 2007 (5) 227 227 
			  
			 South-west Government office region 
			 1997 226 176 181 
			 1998 (6) (6) (6) 
			 1999 279 200 214 
			 2000 (6) (6) (6) 
			 2001 297 221 234 
			 2002 281 241 246 
			 2003 285 220 233 
			 2004 314 242 257 
			 2005 260 265 264 
			 2006 317 265 276 
			 2007 326 283 292 
			 England
			 1997 260 192 204 
			 1998 (6) (6) (6) 
			 1999 301 202 223 
			 2000 (6) (6) (6) 
			 2001 314 231 247 
			 2002 338 240 259 
			 2003 331 240 258 
			 2004 322 254 268 
			 2005 336 260 275 
			 2006 342 270 287 
			 2007 362 278 297 
			 (1) The LFS full-time/part-time split is based on respondents' self-classification of their employment status. (2) Higher education includes degrees or equivalent qualifications and other higher education qualifications. (3) Total includes people whose qualification level is unknown. (4) The LFS sample does not cover the Isles of Scilly. (5) Sample size too small to provide an estimate. (6) Comparable estimates are not available for 1998 or 2000.  Note: As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.  Source: Labour Force Survey

Personal Income

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average salary for  (a) men and  (b) women was in each Government Office region in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 26 November 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the average salary for  (a) men and  (b) women was in each Government Office region in each of the last 10 years. I am replying in her absence. (167329)
	Levels of earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), and are provided for full-time employees on adult rates of pay, whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence. The ASHE, carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom.
	ASHE results can be obtained on the National Statistics website at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/ashe

Poverty: Children

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether water poverty is included as a component in the delivery of public service agreements on child poverty.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 20 November 2007
	 The child poverty public service agreement (PSA) sets out the strategic priorities for Government in tackling child poverty including, among others, reducing poverty through raising incomes, and tackling poor living conditions.
	Performance against the PSA is measured using three indicators, two of which are income measures and the third is a measure of low income and material deprivation combined.
	By looking at income levels, living conditions and material deprivation the PSA includes a broad range of factors that influence child poverty.

Public Expenditure: Wales

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the change to the budget of the National Assembly for Wales has been arising from the application of the Barnett formula comparability factor to expenditure on  (a) the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew,  (b) London and Continental Railway and  (c) the Channel Tunnel Rail Link;
	(2)  what the areas of devolved expenditure are upon which the comparability assessment for nuclear non-proliferation set out in the Statement of Funding Policy was based;
	(3)  how much has been spent on Cycling England since its inception; and what the corresponding change to the budget of the National Assembly for Wales was as a result of applying the Barnett formula comparability factor to this expenditure.

Andy Burnham: The expenditure by the UK Government on the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, London and Continental Railway and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link has no effect on the budget of the National Assembly for Wales. Although the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform incurs expenditure on nuclear non-proliferation and subscriptions to international organisations on behalf of the UK, elements of the spending in relation to subscriptions are devolved. Expenditure is no longer recorded by the Treasury on a separate programme object for Cycling England; such spending is now subsumed within other transport programmes.

Revenue and Customs: Bath

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much it will cost HM Revenue and Customs to move operations from the Bath tax office to Bristol in terms of  (a) additional travel costs for relocating staff,  (b) all removal costs,  (c) adaptations to the Bristol building for IT equipment and  (d) specific needs of relocating staff; and what change there will be to the number of staff employed.

Jane Kennedy: Short-term costs will be incurred in closing any office, but they need to be set not only against the specific estate savings from that closure but also the long-term efficiency savings arising from the overall reorganisation of HMRC's business, which cannot be apportioned to any specific office.
	The Bath office was included in a review of offices in the Bristol urban centre. One of its conclusions was that business needs were best met by relocating teams from Bath, with the exception of the Enquiry Centre staff, to Bristol. The Enquiry Centre will remain in its present location or nearby.
	Staff will wherever possible move with their work but the process to establish how many staff can reasonably be expected to travel to Bristol is still under way, and staff moves will not be completed until autumn 2008. The detailed breakdown of costs requested is therefore not yet available.

Revenue and Customs: Bath

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether a full equality impact assessment has been carried out on the effect of the closure of the Bath HM Revenue and Customs office on  (a) staff and  (b) service users.

Jane Kennedy: An impact assessment of HMRC's plans to vacate Royal Mead, Bath is available at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/better-regulation/regional-reviews.htm. An Equality Screen of the plans, shown at Appendix A, concluded that a full equality impact assessment is not necessary at this stage as mitigating action can be provided for the potential and known impacts identified.
	The impact on customers is expected to be minimal as Enquiry Centre services will continue to be provided in Royal Mead or nearby.

Revenue and Customs: Sunderland

Chris Mullin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the economic impact on Sunderland of closing the two city centre HM Revenue and Customs offices; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: HMRC consider local private and public sector employment statistics including growth or reduction over the last 10 years together with the economic impact of likely staff migration to new locations. These indicators are among a number of factors which were taken into account before the decision was taken to close the HM Revenue and Customs offices in Gilbridge house and Shackleton house, Sunderland but retain others in the area.

Social Security Benefits

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the take-up rate of  (a) child tax credit,  (b) working tax credit and  (c) child benefit among those eligible has been in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of children living in households eligible for but not claiming  (a) child tax credit,  (b) working tax credit and  (c) child benefit in the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Child and working tax credits were introduced in April 2003.
	Estimates of take-up rates for child and working tax credit in 2005-06 and 2006-07 are not available. Estimates for 2003-04 and 2004-05, are produced in the HMRC publications Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit. Take-up Rates for each relevant year. These publications are available on the HMRC website at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-take-up.htm. Table 7 of these publications also detail the estimated number of in-work entitled non-recipients, by family size.
	A precise take-up rate for child benefit is not available, but it is estimated that approximately 2 per cent. of families, although entitled, do not claim child benefit. The number of children living in households eligible for but not claiming child benefit is not available.

Suicide

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many suicides there were in each county in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 26 November 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many suicides there have been in each county in each of the last 10 years. (167641)
	The attached table provides the number of deaths where suicide was the underlying cause of death in each county in England and Wales, from 1997 to 2006 (the latest year available).
	
		
			  Number of deaths where suicide was the underlying cause of death( 1, 2)  in each county in England and Wales( 3) , 1997-2006( 4) 
			  Deaths (persons) 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			  Counties, England   
			 Greater London 667 778 682 621 630 630 659 627 620 588 
			 Greater Manchester 274 299 296 293 262 223 242 232 270 242 
			 Merseyside 136 155 161 141 157 132 132 122 137 130 
			 South Yorkshire 130 133 124 113 100 103 116 99 117 99 
			 Tyne and Wear 121 127 118 132 110 95 95 115 91 98 
			 West Midlands 218 215 255 259 244 223 201 233 217 199 
			 West Yorkshire 203 201 226 173 183 193 159 209 194 171 
			 Bedfordshire 26 30 47 28 23 36 22 35 31 22 
			 Buckinghamshire 38 46 39 37 36 32 29 33 45 27 
			 Cambridgeshire 41 52 37 54 38 56 45 43 41 49 
			 Cheshire 71 51 79 57 53 56 48 54 52 60 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 74 60 63 51 60 65 59 85 62 55 
			 Cumbria 55 73 62 56 42 53 58 64 57 49 
			 Derbyshire 67 57 59 69 57 64 68 52 54 46 
			 Devon 65 86 78 79 68 68 56 78 77 63 
			 Dorset 33 40 43 37 38 31 28 38 28 37 
			 Durham 47 49 57 34 44 46 53 44 50 36 
			 East Sussex 72 51 47 64 48 58 57 62 58 54 
			 Essex 98 121 107 103 102 91 99 96 112 120 
			 Gloucestershire 52 48 60 65 52 45 61 61 58 53 
			 Hampshire 95 101 115 113 90 100 90 84 78 79 
			 Hertfordshire 78 71 68 66 70 75 95 65 80 57 
			 Kent 115 128 111 128 124 117 135 128 125 113 
			 Lancashire 123 148 128 117 120 94 93 113 94 84 
			 Leicestershire 45 41 49 54 45 48 36 48 36 54 
			 Lincolnshire 43 64 73 61 73 63 70 53 73 68 
			 Norfolk 71 89 86 71 76 74 73 91 74 66 
			 Northamptonshire 56 60 45 55 66 53 64 55 46 51 
			 Northumberland 28 30 32 30 25 30 29 55 32 39 
			 North Yorkshire 67 63 52 58 59 50 59 45 59 54 
			 Nottinghamshire 67 57 72 71 70 64 50 93 67 59 
			 Oxfordshire 52 45 54 44 55 68 41 56 40 72 
			 Shropshire 17 21 30 31 30 29 37 25 28 28 
			 Somerset 39 47 40 59 44 44 50 45 48 56 
			 Staffordshire 56 87 85 81 73 70 83 56 50 50 
			 Suffolk 48 58 56 48 62 59 60 54 59 52 
			 Surrey 107 91 73 79 74 78 89 78 91 66 
			 Warwickshire 29 42 39 53 60 40 38 48 23 34 
			 West Sussex 82 62 76 69 80 69 76 79 67 65 
			 Wiltshire 25 27 31 43 29 44 27 36 46 30 
			 Worcestershire 51 48 64 66 51 38 61 48 54 46 
			  Unitary authorities, England   
			 Bath and North East Somerset UA 13 17 14 12 13 13 11 11 7 4 
			 Blackburn with Darwen UA 31 18 16 16 18 21 15 21 11 14 
			 Blackpool UA 26 27 19 21 33 29 24 5 27 26 
			 Bournemouth UA 22 19 21 22 26 16 19 21 15 18 
			 Bracknell Forest UA 3 16 9 11 6 9 4 7 9 7 
			 Brighton and Hove UA 42 49 34 38 45 37 47 36 33 46 
			 Bristol. City of UA 32 41 46 28 30 24 34 24 44 35 
			 Darlington UA 7 16 10 9 17 6 12 10 14 9 
			 Derby UA 16 21 35 26 16 30 16 16 22 22 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire UA 20 39 21 28 35 38 22 29 33 26 
			 Halton UA 10 12 6 19 8 12 15 9 15 13 
			 Hartlepool UA 4 9 9 11 8 14 11 7 7 4 
			 Herefordshire, County of UA 19 18 29 19 16 15 12 18 19 20 
			 Isle of Wight UA 18 12 23 13 19 20 24 13 13 13 
			 Kingston upon Hull, City of UA 17 44 34 40 29 26 27 38 33 22 
			 Leicester UA 28 32 34 33 30 19 30 26 32 28 
			 Luton UA 17 14 15 13 13 19 16 18 15 15 
			 Medway UA 12 24 12 18 17 22 13 20 21 23 
			 Middlesbrough UA 14 19 15 22 17 18 32 27 14 11 
			 Milton Keynes UA 17 21 15 26 7 20 10 12 14 12 
			 North East Lincolnshire UA 9 24 21 16 11 21 13 22 11 9 
			 North Lincolnshire UA 9 16 14 18 14 11 13 13 20 11 
			 North Somerset UA 9 11 14 16 14 12 17 9 8 17 
			 Nottingham UA 18 41 39 29 36 20 35 38 34 27 
			 Peterborough UA 15 17 10 20 24 22 14 22 10 14 
			 Plymouth UA 26 22 43 29 27 16 19 24 13 29 
			 Poole UA 19 10 20 15 16 18 13 11 14 15 
			 Portsmouth UA 16 22 23 23 19 19 22 17 9 23 
			 Reading UA 4 15 10 11 20 11 14 19 11 11 
			 Redcar and Cleveland UA 11 17 11 20 13 15 20 10 19 12 
			 Rutland UA 2 1 1 3 4 1 5 5 3 3 
			 Slough UA 7 18 12 7 11 12 12 7 10 12 
			 South Gloucestershire UA 13 11 13 17 14 11 13 8 11 14 
			 Southampton UA 26 28 31 20 21 21 15 22 31 20 
			 Southend-on-Sea UA 13 19 9 20 24 20 16 17 18 20 
			 Stockton-on-Tees UA 24 23 6 21 15 15 20 27 15 19 
			 Stoke-on-Trent UA 18 32 31 18 30 33 17 18 20 16 
			 Swindon UA 8 22 15 13 17 25 24 20 11 14 
			 Telford and Wrekin UA 14 11 13 15 15 18 17 8 14 18 
			 Thurrock UA 7 11 10 12 8 14 10 11 8 9 
			 Torbay UA 20 17 9 23 20 20 21 18 11 20 
			 Warrington UA 13 18 22 22 26 20 10 17 14 18 
			 West Berkshire UA 13 10 12 11 8 10 10 14 20 8 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead UA 7 17 12 10 7 11 6 8 13 11 
			 Wokingham UA 7 9 18 17 9 9 3 7 6 7 
			 York UA 19 22 16 10 11 12 14 17 15 11 
			  Counties and county boroughs, Wales   
			 Blaenau Gwent 4 9 12 11 4 9 4 11 5 3 
			 Bridgend 13 12 14 15 10 16 18 16 11 20 
			 Caerphilly 11 17 22 14 14 15 21 21 9 15 
			 Cardiff 28 22 32 27 28 27 32 36 21 34 
			 Carmarthenshire 18 17 24 24 27 17 27 24 20 22 
			 Ceredigion 7 8 8 3 8 11 11 9 7 9 
			 Conwy 18 15 11 13 15 19 15 18 12 20 
			 Denbighshire 16 17 14 14 7 13 8 17 13 14 
			 Flintshire 11 21 10 23 15 13 17 20 13 16 
			 Gwynedd 11 16 14 17 9 9 16 13 8 9 
			 Isle of Anglesey 2 10 10 6 5 6 7 8 4 3 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 11 4 9 9 4 6 9 6 7 10 
			 Monmouthshire 8 6 5 10 6 7 6 8 4 10 
			 Neath Port Talbot 17 15 12 14 21 18 20 16 21 14 
			 Newport 9 11 12 12 12 12 7 7 15 13 
			 Pembrokeshire 11 13 12 15 17 17 12 12 13 8 
			 Powys 13 10 15 12 22 8 15 10 19 10 
			 Rhondda, Cynon, Taff 25 34 31 22 33 25 24 24 19 18 
			 Swansea 27 31 30 22 27 28 34 19 15 26 
			 The Vale of Glamorgan 7 9 14 15 11 12 7 12 11 6 
			 Torfaen 8 8 7 9 10 6 9 8 7 6 
			 Wrexham 13 13 14 12 8 10 13 15 15 15 
			 1 Suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases. Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes E950-E959 and E980-E989, excluding E988.8 for the years 1997 to 2000. and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 and Y10-Y34. excluding Y33.9 (where the coroner's verdict was pending) for the years 2001 to 2006.  (2) Suicide and undetermined intent deaths have not been included for children under the age of 15 years.  (3) Based on boundaries as of 2007. All counties, county boroughs and unitary authorities in England and Wales have been included in the definition of 'county'.  (4 )Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.

Tax Allowances: Travel

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will change the arrangements for the submissions of the P87 tax relief fund for those who undertake essential mileage, especially those working in the care industry.

Jane Kennedy: All employees who are paid less than the statutory mileage rates by their employer for business journeys in their own cars are entitled to claim tax relief on the difference. This can be done by completing a form P87. There are no plans to change these arrangements.

Tax Collection

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was collected  (a) in total and  (b) per head of the population by HM Revenue and Customs and its predecessors from residents of (i) Southend, (ii) the Essex region, (iii) Greater London and (iv) Scotland in each year since 1997; and what Government spending was in each area (A) in total and (B) per head of population in the same period.

Andy Burnham: Total and per capita tax revenue is not available at a regional level. Sources of the most relevant available data are shown as follows.
	The ONS publish estimates of income tax, council taxes and vehicle taxes paid by households by region, available at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_economy/Results_Tables_Values.xls
	The relevant data can be found under D.5 Current taxes on income, wealth etc in table 2:8.
	Regional stamp duty receipts attributable to residential property are published by HMRC, available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/stamp_duty/table15-2.pdf.
	No corresponding information is available on taxes paid by companies and other organisations, or on other taxes paid by households.
	Total public spending that can be identified as benefiting a particular country or region is published in table 9.1 of Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) 2007, available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/economic_data_and_tools/finance_spending_statistics/pes_publications/pespub pesa07.cfm
	The equivalent per capita information can be found in table 9.2. Public spending can be split into that which can be identified as benefiting a particular country or region and that which is for the benefit of the UK as a whole, for example defence spending. Therefore, the figures in PESA do not represent total public spending, which is not available by region.
	The Scottish Executive also produces an annual publication Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland. This is available at:
	http://www.scotland.gov.ukPublications/2006/12/11084016/0

Taxation: Carers

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will bring forward proposals to extend tax relief for child care vouchers to include the care of vulnerable disabled and elderly people; if he will make an assessment of the effects such a policy would have on employment outcomes for carers, older workers and women; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what plans he has to extend the tax-free status afforded to child care vouchers to cover the care of elderly and disabled people; and what recent representations he has had on the economic aspects of such a proposal, including any likely savings to Government thereof.

Jane Kennedy: The Government are keen to ensure that people with caring responsibilities can make the most of opportunities to balance work with their caring responsibilities.
	They will look carefully at the costs and benefits of any further proposals, including whether it is the most effective mechanism for tackling the issues faced by carers, particularly those experienced by specific groups, when making an assessment of the case for intervention in this area.
	The Government keep tax reliefs under review and has received representations in this area. However, it does not believe that allowing employers to provide employees with tax and NICs free care vouchers is the most appropriate, fair or cost effective way of tackling the issues faced by carers.

Throat Cancer

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people  (a) were diagnosed with and  (b) died from throat cancer in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the north east and (iv) the UK in each year since 1997.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 26 November 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people have (a) been diagnosed with and (b) died from throat cancer in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) the UK in each year since 1997. (165401)
	'Throat cancer' is not a precise medical term. A number of different types of cancer can develop in the throat. Many patients and relatives use the term 'throat cancer' to mean cancer of the larynx (the voice box); or cancer of the thyroid gland (which is at the front of the base of the neck(; or cancer of the oesophagus (the food pipe). We assume that you sought information for one of these cancers.
	The latest available figures for (a) newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) for the United Kingdom are for the year 2004. Numbers of cases of laryngeal, thyroid and oesophageal cancer for the years 1997 to 2004 for (i) Jarrow Parliamentary Constituency, (ii) South Tyneside County District, (iii) North East Government Office Region and (iv) United Kingdom are given in Tables 1-3 below.
	The latest available figures for (b) deaths are for the year 2006. Numbers of deaths from laryngeal, thyroid and oesophageal cancer for the years 1997 to 2006 for (i) Jarrow Parliamentary Constituency, (ii) South Tyneside County District, (iii) North East Government Office Region and (iv) United Kingdom are given in Tables 4-6 below.
	
		
			  Table 1. Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of laryngeal cancer( 1) : Jarrow parliamentary constituency, South Tyneside county district, north east government office region and United Kingdom, 1997 to 2004( 2) 
			   Jarrow  South Tyneside  North East  United Kingdom 
			 1997 7 13 143 2,315 
			 1998 11 19 167 2,299 
			 1999 9 13 140 2,358 
			 2000 5 10 138 2,440 
			 2001 8 10 145 2,335 
			 2002 6 10 138 2,173 
			 2003 3 7 139 2,195 
			 2004 6 10 143 2,168 
			 (1) Cancer of the larynx is defined as code C32 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). (2) Based on parliamentary constituency and local authority boundaries as of 2007.  Source:  Office for National Statistics  Welsh Cancer Intelligence  Surveillance Unit.  Scottish Cancer Registry, National Health Service in Scotland  Northern Ireland Cancer Registry 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2. Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of thyroid cancer( 1) : Jarrow parliamentary constituency, South Tyneside county district, north east government office region and United Kingdom, 1997 to 2004( 2) 
			   Jarrow  South Tyneside  North East  United Kingdom 
			 1997 0 2 46 1,235 
			 1998 1 3 58 1,309 
			 1999 1 3 54 1,348 
			 2000 3 4 57 1,405 
			 2001 2 3 60 1,488 
			 2002 0 2 69 1,522 
			 2003 0 1 53 1,584 
			 2004 4 6 75 1,638 
			 (1) Cancer of the thyroid is defined as code C73 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). (2) Based on parliamentary constituency and local authority boundaries as of 2007.  Source:  Office for National Statistics  Welsh Cancer Intelligence  Surveillance Unit  Scottish Cancer Registry, National Health Service in Scotland  Northern Ireland Cancer Registry 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3. Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of oesophageal cancer -: Jarrow parliamentary constituency, South Tyneside county district, north east government office region and United Kingdom, 1997 to 2004( 2) 
			   Jarrow  South Tyneside  North East  United Kingdom 
			 1997 7 10 311 7,101 
			 1998 10 16 287 7,049 
			 1999 8 19 296 7,294 
			 2000 11 20 317 7,391 
			 2001 5 15 290 7,580 
			 2002 14 23 323 7,570 
			 2003 11 15 343 7,674 
			 2004 5 25 300 7,653 
			 (1) Cancer of the oesophagus is defined as code C15 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). (2) Based on parliamentary constituency and local authority boundaries as of 2007.  Source:  Office for National Statistics  Welsh Cancer Intelligence  Surveillance Unit  Scottish Cancer Registry, National Health Service in Scotland  Northern Ireland Cancer Registry 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4. Number of deaths where laryngeal cancer( 1)  was the underlying cause of death: Jarrow parliamentary constituency, South Tyneside county district, north east government office region and United Kingdom, 1997 to 2006( 2, 3, 4, 5) 
			   Jarrow  South Tyneside  North East  United Kingdom 
			 1997 2 7 51 905 
			 1998 2 7 75 897 
			 1999 5 8 52 873 
			 2000 2 3 39 839 
			 2001 1 2 64 895 
			 2002 1 4 51 890 
			 2003 2 5 39 837 
			 2004 3 4 46 793 
			 2005 2 3 45 789 
			 2006 1 2 37 804 
			 (1) Cause of death for cancer of the larynx was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 161 and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code C32. The introduction of ICD-10 in 2001 means that the numbers of deaths from this cause before 2001 are not completely comparable with later years. (2) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. (3 )Based on parliamentary constituency and local authority boundaries as of 2007. (4) UK figures include deaths of non-residents in Scotland and Northern Ireland, but not in England and Wales. (5) UK figures for 2006 include figures for Northern Ireland which are provisional until the publication of the Registrar General Annual Report in December 2007. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 5. Number of deaths where thyroid cancer( 1)  was the underlying cause of death: Jarrow parliamentary constituency, South Tyneside county district, north east government office region and United Kingdom, 1997 to 2006( 2, 3, 4, 5) 
			   Jarrow  South Tyneside  North East  United Kingdom 
			 1997 0 1 10 297 
			 1998 0 0 14 329 
			 1999 0 0 12 342 
			 2000 0 0 6 297 
			 2001 0 0 10 304 
			 2002 2 1 11 309 
			 2003 0 0 14 354 
			 2004 2 3 19 330 
			 2005 0 1 17 341 
			 2006 1 1 11 335 
			 (1) Cause of death for cancer of the thyroid was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 193 and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code C73. The introduction of ICD-10 in 2001 means that the numbers of deaths from this cause before 2001 are not completely comparable with later years. (2) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. (3) Based on parliamentary constituency and local authority boundaries as of 2007. (4) UK figures include deaths of non-residents in Scotland and Northern Ireland, but not in England and Wales. (5) UK figures for 2006 include figures for Northern Ireland which are provisional until the publication of the Registrar General Annual Report in December 2007.  Source:  Office for National Statistics. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 6. Number of deaths where oesophageal cancer( 1)  was the underlying cause of death: Jarrow parliamentary constituency, South Tyneside county district, north east government office region and United Kingdom, 1997 to 2006( 2, 3, 4, 5) 
			   Jarrow  South Tyneside  North East  United Kingdom 
			 1997 10 20 299 6,740 
			 1998 15 19 327 6,815 
			 1999 9 17 280 6,969 
			 2000 15 28 310 6,911 
			 2001 8 25 297 7,044 
			 2002 11 17 322 7,260 
			 2003 10 18 318 7,351 
			 2004 7 22 319 7,231 
			 2005 11 20 331 7,422 
			 2006 8 21 324 7,418 
			 (1) Cause of death for cancer of the oesophagus was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 150 and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code C15. The introduction of ICD-10 in 2001 means that the numbers of deaths from this cause before 2001 are not completely comparable with later years. (2) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. (3) Based on parliamentary constituency and local authority boundaries as of 2007. (4) UK figures include deaths of non-residents in Scotland and Northern Ireland, but not in England and Wales. (5) UK figures for 2006 include figures for Northern Ireland which are provisional until the publication of the Registrar General Annual Report in December 2007.  Source:  Office for National Statistics.

Unemployment: Young People

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many 16 to 24 year olds were not in employment, education or training in the UK in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 26 November 2007:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the number of people between the ages of 16 and 24 who are currently not in full-time education or training or in employment in the most recent period for which figures are available. (167361)
	Not seasonally adjusted and seasonally adjusted estimates for the educational status, economic activity and inactivity of young people are published each month in the Labour Market Statistics First Release in table 14, covering the UK for age groups, 16-17, 18-24, and 25 and over and are available at:
	http://nswebcopy/downloads/theme_labour/LMS_FR_HS/WebTable14SA.xls
	The attached table has been derived from the published seasonally adjusted table 14. It shows the number of people between the ages of 16 and 24, who are currently not in full-time education or training or in employment, for the three months ending September 2007. These estimates are seasonally adjusted.
	Estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			  Number of people between the age of 16 and 24, by gender who are currently not in full-time education( 1)  or training( 1)  or employment( 2) , United Kingdom, seasonally adjusted, July to September 2007 
			  Thousand 
			  Three months ending September  All Persons  Male  Female 
			 ILO unemployed 490 305 186 
			 Economically Inactive 748 251 497 
			 Total 1,238 556 683 
			 (1) Refers to people who are not in full-time education or training. This does include people in part-time education and/or some form of training. The total number of young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) cannot therefore be derived from this table. (2) People not in employment refers to those who are ILO unemployed or economically inactive.  Source:  ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS)

VAT: Fraud

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the amount of VAT received by the public purse from telephone calls by members of the public invited by television shows under false pretences;
	(2)  if he will donate to the unclaimed registrar fund the VAT receipts from telephone calls invited under false pretences by television shows;
	(3)  if he will donate to charity the VAT receipts from telephone calls invited under false pretences by television shows.

Jane Kennedy: holding answers 12 November 2007
	No such estimate has been made. In normal circumstances, if an individual receives a refund or discount from a supplier, any tax originally charged may be adjusted by the supplier and refunded to the customer.
	All VAT collected by HMRC is applied to the Government's priorities and spending plans, as set out by the Chancellor in the 2007 pre-Budget report and comprehensive spending review. This includes over 515 million that will be invested by the Office of the Third Sector in third sector programmes over the comprehensive spending review period.

Wealth

Michael Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) millionaires and  (b) billionaires there are in the UK; and how many there were of each in (i) 2002 and (ii) 1997 in (A) cash and (B) 2007 prices.

Jane Kennedy: We estimate that in the year 2002 there were 250,000 millionaires in the United Kingdom.
	The corresponding figure for 1997 is not available. No estimate exists for the number of billionaires.

Welfare Tax Credits

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department provides advice on budgeting to people in receipt of tax credits.

Jane Kennedy: HMRC does not provide budgeting advice to any of its customers, including its tax credit customers.

Welfare Tax Credits: Complaints

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to HM Revenue and Customs of dealing with complaints about tax credits was in the last 12 months.

Jane Kennedy: The cost of dealing with complaints in the Tax Credit Office between 1 November 2006 and 31 October 2007 was around 6.5 million.
	It is not possible to provide costs for other areas of HMRC that might also handle complaints relating to tax credits.

Welfare Tax Credits: Complaints

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many full-time equivalent staff members the Adjudicator's Office employs to deal with complaints about tax credits;
	(2)  what the cost to the Adjudicator's Office of dealing with complaints about tax credits was in the last 12 months.

Jane Kennedy: The Adjudicators Office advise that approximately 39 full-time equivalent staff members dealt with complaints about tax credits in the last 12 months.
	The overall costs of the Adjudicator's Office are published in her annual report which is available at:
	http://www.adjudicatorsoffice.gov.uk/pdf/report2007.pdf.

Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what has been spent on recovering tax credit overpayments in each year since the introduction of tax credits; and what estimate he has made of future costs of recovery;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost of writing off debts arising from the overpayment of tax credits for  (a) 2003-04,  (b) 2004-05,  (c) 2005-06,  (d) 2006-07 and  (e) all overpayments.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 20 November 2007
	 The total costs of administration of tax credits from 2003-04 to 2004-06 were published on 6 July 2007 in part two of the Standard Report on HM Revenue and Customs 2006-07 accounts together with provisional estimates for 2006-07. Details of administration costs for earlier years were published in the Inland Revenue Trust statements for those years. Details of tax credits overpayments written off from 2003-04 to 2005-06 were published in the same report.
	Details of Inland Revenue losses, including tax written off by HM Revenue and Customs, is published annually in the departmental accounts and are available on the departmental website.
	Information on the amount spent on recovering tax credits overpayments and the cost of writing off debts arising from the overpayment of tax credits is not available.

JUSTICE

Convictions: Theft

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of convictions for theft of personal property resulted in  (a) custodial and  (b) community sentences in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2006.

David Hanson: The information notified by the courts and the police to the Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database does not enable theft of personal property to be positively identified. The information contained in the following table covers those theft offences where it is likely that all, or the majority, of the offences will relate to personal property.
	
		
			  Persons sentenced for theft offences which mostly involve personal property( 1) 
			   Number sentenced  Percentage given custody  Percentage given community sentences 
			 1997 31,433 18 33 
			 2005 22,792 21 47 
			 (1) Theft from the person, in a dwelling, of a pedal cycle, of or from a motor vehicle and other miscellaneous theft. 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.
	Figures for 2006 will be published in mid-December.

Crime: Arrests

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what percentage of arrests in  (a) England,  (b) London and  (c) each London borough led to criminal conviction in each year since 1997.

Maria Eagle: My Department collects aggregated data on number of arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) separately from record level data on all criminal convictions. This means that centrally we are unable to tell which arrests have led to a conviction.

Crown Dependencies

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  when the Privy Council last consulted his Department or its predecessor on legislative matters submitted for promulgation from  (a) the Isle of Man and  (b) Guernsey;
	(2)  when the Privy Council last consulted his Department or its predecessor on legislative matters submitted for promulgation from Jersey.

Michael Wills: The Ministry of Justice is consulted on all legislative matters for Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man submitted for ratification to the Privy Council. The last occasion that Orders were approved for Jersey and Guernsey were at the Privy Council meeting on 14 November 2007; and for the Isle of Man at the meeting on the 4 April 2007.

Crown Dependencies

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what legislation from  (a) Guernsey and  (b) the Isle of Man is awaiting promulgation by his Department.

Michael Wills: The legislation awaiting promulgation on behalf of Guernsey and the Isle of Man is listed in the following table.
	
		
			  Island  Law 
			 Isle of Man Presiding Officers Bill 2007 
			  Onchan District (Amendment) Bill 2007 
			   
			 Bailiwick of Guernsey Forgery and Counterfeiting (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2006 
			  Law Reform (Inheritance and Miscellaneous Provisions) (Guernsey) Law, 2006 
			  Animal Welfare (Enabling Provisions) (Guernsey) Law, 2006 
			  Preferred Debts, Dsastre Proceedings and Miscellaneous Provisions (Guernsey and Alderney) Law, 2006 
			  Road Traffic (Drink Driving) (Guernsey) (Amendment) Law, 2006 
			  Police Property and Forfeiture (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2006 
			  Emergency and Health Workers (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2006 
			  Homicide and Suicide (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2006 
			  Public Order (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2006 
			  Social Insurance (Guernsey) (Amendment) Law, 2006 
			  Fees Charges and Penalties (Guernsey) Law, 2007 
			  Competition and Trading Standards (Enabling Provisions) (Guernsey) Law, 2007 
			  Road Traffic (Parking Fees and Charges) (Enabling Provisions) (Guernsey) Law, 2007 
			  Income Tax (Guernsey) (Amendment) Law, 2007 
			  Motor Taxation and Licensing (Guernsey) (Amendment) Law, 2007 
			  Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) (Amendment) Law, 2007 
			  Regulation of Utilities (Bailiwick of Guernsey) (Amendment) Law, 2007 
			  Forfeiture of Money in Civil Proceedings Law, 2007 
			  Criminal Justice (Aiding and Abetting etc.) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2007 
			  Trusts (Guernsey) Law, 2007 
			   
			 Alderney Smoking (Prohibition in Public Places and Workplaces) (Alderney) Law 2007, 
			  Renewable Energy (Alderney) Law, 2007 
			   
			 Sark Sark Hall Trust (Dissolution) Law, 2007 
			  Real Property (Transfer Tax, Charging and Related Provisions) (Sark) Law, 2007 
			  Reform (Sark) Law, 2007

Crown Dependencies

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in respect of how many draft Bills  (a) Guernsey,  (b) the Isle of Man and  (c) Jersey has sought promulgation in the last 12 months.

Michael Wills: Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man have not sought promulgation of any draft Bills in the last 12 Months.

Crown Dependencies

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in what circumstances an assenting order may be refused in relation to the Channel Islands.

Michael Wills: The Government may, via the Privy Council, advise Her Majesty to refuse Royal Assent to legislation submitted by the government of the Channel Islands if that legislation would put the United Kingdom in breach of its international obligations; or infringe against principles of good government; or adversely affect the UK's responsibility for the defence of the Islands; or otherwise be contrary to fundamental constitutional principles.

Crown Dependencies

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in what circumstances an assenting order may be refused in relation to the Isle of Man.

Michael Wills: The Government may, via the Privy Council, advise Her Majesty to refuse Royal Assent to legislation submitted by the government of the Isle of Man if that legislation would put the United Kingdom in breach of its international obligations; or infringe against principles of good government; or adversely affect the UK's responsibility for the defence of the Island; or otherwise be contrary to fundamental constitutional principles.

Crown Dependencies

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many pieces of Crown dependency legislation are awaiting ratification; and what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the arrangements for  (a) scrutiny and  (b) promulgation of such legislation.

Michael Wills: There are currently 47 pieces of Crown dependency legislation awaiting ratification. The Secretary of State for Justice is content that the existing arrangements for the scrutiny and promulgation of Crown dependencies legislation provides for Her Majesty's Government to give effect to their constitutional responsibilities towards the Islands.

Crown Dependencies

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to conduct reviews of the process by which legislation from the Crown dependencies is processed; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Wills: The process by which legislation from the Crown dependencies is processed by the Ministry of Justice is kept under constant review to take into account the needs of both the Crown dependencies and the UK.

Crown Dependencies

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what legislation from Jersey is awaiting promulgation by his Department.

Michael Wills: The legislation awaiting promulgation on behalf of Jersey is shown in the following list.
	 Law
	States of Jersey (Amendment No. 3) Law 200-
	High Hedges (Jersey) Law 200-
	Public Elections (Amendment No. 2) (Jersey) Law 200-
	Financial Services (Amendment No. 3) (Jersey) Law 200-
	Air Transport Permits (Repeal) (Jersey) Law 200-
	States of Jersey (Amendment No. 4) Law 200-
	Criminal Justice (Community Service Orders) (Amendment) (Jersey) Law 200-
	Police (Complaints and Discipline) (Amendment) (Jersey) Law 200-
	Price and Charge Indicators (Jersey) Law 200-
	Collective Investment Funds (Amendment No. 4) (Jersey) Law 200-
	Banking Business (Amendment No. 6) (Jersey) Law 200-
	Insurance Business (Amendment No. 6) (Jersey) Law 200-
	Financial Services (Amendment No. 4) (Jersey) Law 200-
	Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) (Amendment) (Jersey) Law 200-
	Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) (Jersey) Law 200-
	Drug Trafficking (Offences) (Amendment) (Jersey) Law 200-
	Terrorism (Amendment No. 2) (Jersey) Law 200-

Crown Dependencies

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the Government plan to make new Crown appointments on the Channel Islands.

Michael Wills: The Ministry of Justice is currently processing the appointment of the new Solicitor-General of Jersey. There are no other new Crown appointments scheduled for the immediate future. The timing of the appointment of the majority of Crown officers in the Crown dependencies is determined by when their Warrants or Letters Patent expire, or by their retirement from office.

Departmental Consultants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what consultations were undertaken by his Department which have not been made open to the public in the last year.

Michael Wills: My Department undertakes a range of consultation activities, which are open to the public and which include formal written public consultations, as well as other forms of engagement such as focus groups, public meetings and online discussion sessions. Our formal written consultation papers are conducted in accordance with the Government's consultation code. Details of current consultations can be found at the Ministry of Justice website www.justice.gov.uk.
	My Ministry also conducts other forms of consultation where the intended audience is more limited. For example, this might include consulting interested groups of stakeholders on particular, discrete, specialised or technical topics, perhaps as an early part of policy development. Such consultation may be less accessible or open to the public and we do not keep a central record of this type of consultation or engagement.

Departmental Correspondence

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of inquiries received by his Department from the public were responded to within  (a) one week,  (b) 14 days,  (c) 28 days,  (d) two months and  (e) three months in the last period for which figures are available; and in what percentage of cases it took (i) over three months and (ii) over one year to respond.

Maria Eagle: My Department has a target to respond to letters from the public within 15 working days. From 1 January to 31 October 2007, 6,536 separate pieces of correspondence (including e-mails) were answered with the target met in 91 per cent. of cases.
	The more detailed information the hon. Member has requested is not readily available and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Departmental ICT

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which manufacturers' software is used in his Department.

Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice's main corporate software manufacturers are:
	Adobe
	Apache Software Foundation
	Barron McCann
	BMC Software
	Business Objects
	Cable  Wireless Web Technology Group
	Cast Software
	Computer Associates
	Concorde
	Formscape
	Grisoft
	HP
	IBM
	McAfee
	Microsoft Corporation
	Mirapoint
	MySQL AB
	Network Intelligence
	Novell
	Oracle Corporation
	QAS
	Quest Software
	Red Hat
	Reddot Solutions
	SSL
	Sun Microsystems
	Symantec
	Tower Software
	Websense

Departmental Manpower

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many civil servants in his Department and its predecessors  (a) transferred to other Government departments and  (b) left the Civil Service in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply separately13 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 203-7W.
	Statistics on civil servants transferring between Departments from the former Department of Constitutional Affairs are not published and therefore not available in the response from the National Statistician; however, an update on centrally held figures shows that a total of 107 staff transferred or moved on loan to other Government Departments for the year to September 2006.
	Figures for staff who left the civil service in each of the last five years can be found as part of the Annual Civil Service Statistics publication in the separate response from the National Statistician to this question.

Departmental Orders and Regulations

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many regulations his Department has  (a) made and  (b) revoked in the last 12 months.

Maria Eagle: Between 3 October 2006 and 8 May 2007 the Department for Constitutional Affairs made 74 Statutory Instruments. Since 9 May 2007 the Ministry of Justice has made 69 Statutory Instruments.
	The information requested on how many instruments were revoked can be supplied only at disproportionate cost. No central record is maintained of this information. Revocations will have been made by new Acts of Parliament or new Statutory Instruments.

Departmental Public Consultations

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what opinion polls the Department has conducted of  (a) the public and  (b) staff since 27 June 2007; and what the (i) name of the firm employed to conduct the poll, (ii) purpose and (iii) cost to the public purse was in each case.

Maria Eagle: Opinion polls are normally understood as surveys of a representative sample of the public about their opinions on public issues, including those related to a Department's policies. So opinion polls of staff should be understood as surveys of their opinions on public issues or departmental policies, not internal matters.
	The table gives the details requested on 15 opinion polls conducted by the Ministry of Justice since 27 June 2007. The cost in 2007-08 of these contracts is 668,531 (excluding VAT).
	This figure excludes the costs of the HMCS Court User Survey and Tribunal Service Customer Satisfaction Survey that are commercial in confidence. Both surveys are subject to periodic re-tendering and the release of this information would weaken the Department's future negotiation position.
	
		
			   
			  Total cost in 2007-08 
			  Name of the opinion poll  Staff or public  Name of firm carrying out work  Purpose of poll  Excluding  VAT  Including . VAT 
			 HMCS Court User Survey Public MORI To elicit levels of court user satisfaction with standards or customer service and other key service issues across the high court, the Crown, county and magistrates courts and associated offices. (1) (1) 
			 Witness and Victim Experience Survey (WAVES) PublicVictims and witnesses Ipsos MORI To gather consistent and comparable local and national data on victim and witness. 485,990 571,038 
			 Court Service Survey Public Not applicableconducted internally Feedback on service. 0 0 
			 Constitution Directorate tracker survey Public Ipsos MORI Brief tracker survey to monitor public knowledge and opinion of key areas of Constitution Directorate work (e.g. Freedom of Information, Data Protection, Human Rights Act, etc.). Normally repeated three to four times per year. 38,300 45,000 
			 General Public Awareness of the Mental Capacity Act (Capibus survey) Public Ipsos MORI Determine baseline data on awareness of the Mental Capacity Act among the general public prior to implementation. 22,280 26,179 
			 Legal Professionals Awareness of the Mental Capacity Act (online survey) PublicLegal professionals Ipsos MORI Determine baseline data on awareness of the Mental Capacity Act among legal professionals prior to implementation. 7,800 9,165 
			 Health and Social Care Professionals Awareness of the Mental Capacity Act (paper survey) PublicHealth and Social Care professionals Distribution through Binleys Survey conducted by Ipsos MORI Determine baseline data on awareness of the Mental Capacity Act among health and social care professionals prior to implementation. 24,278 28,468 
			 Survey Draft Public Law Outline Staff and family court practitioners Not applicableconducted internally To seek views on the operation of the draft Public Law Outline in 10 initiative areas. 0 0 
			 The Pro Bono Work of Legal Executives PublicLegal executives (i.e. non-gov legal professionals) ECOTEC Primary purpose of this research was to estimate the extent and value of pro bono work being carried out by legal executives. However, there were some questions seeking opinions, e.g. on legal executives' feelings about carrying out pro bono work. 39,813 46,780 
			 Testing of language and understanding of Departmental Strategic Objectives Public GfK NOP To test comprehension and meaning of the Departmental Strategic Objectives with the 500 members of the public. 6,270 7,367 
			 Employment tribunal mediation pilot Public Westminster University, fieldwork sub-contracted to BMRB To assess effectiveness of judicial mediation in the employment tribunal. 43,800 51,465 
			 Local Face to Face satisfaction Survey Public Not applicableconducted internally Customer Satisfaction 0 0 
			 Local Victim and Witness Survey Public Not applicableconducted internally by Witness Service Victim Code Compliance Confidence 0 0 
			 Local Student Confidence in CJS Public Not applicableconducted internally Confidence and establishing knowledge re a student programme. 0 0 
			 Tribunal Service Customer Satisfaction Survey Public FDS International Limited To inform Key Performance Indicator (KPI) on customer satisfaction. (1) (1) 
			  Total   668,531 785,462 
			 (1) Costing information is not supplied as this is commercial in confidence. This survey is subject to periodic re-tendering and release of the costings would weaken the Department's negotiating position.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many full-time equivalent staff are responsible for brand management and marketing in his Department and its agencies;
	(2)  how much his Department, its predecessor and its agencies spent on staff working on  (a) marketing and  (b) branding in the last 12 month period for which figures are available;
	(3)  how much his Department, its predecessors and its agencies spent on managing their corporate identities in the last 12 month period for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: My Department and its agencies have the following full-time equivalent staff responsible for brand management and marketing. A single figure is provided because it is not possible to separate out the staff time between brand management and marketing elements.
	
		
			   Full-time equivalent 
			 MOJ HQ 1.8 
			 Her Majesty's Courts Service 1.5 
			 Office of the Public Guardian 0.5 
			 Office for Criminal Justice Reform 2 
			 National Offender Management Service 1.5 
			 Tribunals Service 0.3 
			 HM Prisons Service 0 
		
	
	My Department, the Ministry of Justice since 9 May 2007, its predecessor since 20 November 2006 to 8 May 2007, and its agencies spent the following on staff working on marketing and branding in the last 12-month period. A single figure is provided because it is not possible to separate out the staff time between branding and marketing elements.
	
		
			
			 MOJ HQ 122,548 
			 Her Majesty's Courts Service 99,358 
			 Office of the Public Guardian 32,990 
			 Office for Criminal Justice Reform 76,152 
			 National Offender Management Service 68,502 
			 Tribunals Service 10,100 
			 HM Prisons Service 0 
		
	
	My Department, the Ministry of Justice since 9 May 2007, its predecessor since 20 November 2006 to 8 May 2007, and its agencies spent the following on managing its corporate identities in the last 12-month period.
	
		
			
			 MOJ HQ 10,985 
			 Her Majesty's Courts Service 99,358 
			 Office of the Public Guardian 32,990 
			 Office for Criminal Justice Reform 22,000 
			 National Offender Management Service 0 
			 Tribunals Service 10,100 
			 HM Prisons Service 0 
		
	
	Where figures are identical in the second and third question (HMCS and OPG), they indicate that the overall cost cannot be broken down into the separate areas of work.

Driving Offences

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) speeding and  (b) dangerous driving offences were recorded in (i) Cornwall, (ii) each parliamentary constituency in Cornwall and (iii) England in each year since 1979.

Maria Eagle: Available information held by my Department for the Devon and Cornwall police force area and that of England, from 1980 to 2005 (latest available) is provided in the table.
	Information is collected centrally at police force area level only.
	
		
			  Table A: Motoring offences dealt with within Devon and Cornwall police force area, 1980  to  2005 
			  Number of offences 
			   Speed limit offences( 1)  Dangerous driving offences( 2) 
			   Written warnings  Fixed penalty notices ( 3)  Court proceedings ( 4)  Written warnings  Fixed penalty notices  Court proceedings ( 5) 
			 1980 231 n/a 6,087 (6) n/a 204 
			 1981 238 n/a 5,028 2 n/a 155 
			 1982 178 n/a 4,711 1 n/a 135 
			 1983 133 n/a 6,264 (6) n/a 125 
			 1984 136 n/a 5,814 3 n/a 150 
			 1985 166 n/a 4,629 8 n/a 121 
			 1986 211 1,740 8,093 (6) n/a 113 
			 1987 57 10,493 3,472 3 n/a 135 
			 1988 25 10,040 3,349 2 n/a 219 
			 1989 47 14,387 4,503 2 n/a 136 
			 1990 58 17,173 6,431 (6) n/a 142 
			 1991 66 14,447 5,936 1 n/a 156 
			 1992 845 9,044 3,592 (6) n/a 113 
			 1993 2,752 14,041 2,013 2 n/a 136 
			 1994 1,101 25,914 3,679 1 n/a 122 
			 1995 503 26,078 3,810 3 n/a 113 
			 1996 503 29,078 3,792 (6) n/a 93 
			 1997 665 36,150 4,021 (6) n/a 102 
			 1998 1,652 32,757 3,741 (6) n/a 182 
			 1999 495 33,682 4,345 2 n/a 159 
			 2000 39 28,091 5,324 2 n/a 137 
			 2001 10 33,389 4,661 1 n/a 157 
			 2002 (6) 31,144 4,390 (6) n/a 136 
			 2003 (6) 63,916 6,961 (6) n/a 173 
			 2004 (6) 91,662 6,990 (6) n/a 134 
			 2005 (6) 53,474 7,665 (6) n/a 116 
			 (1) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and Motor Vehicles(Speed Limits on Motorways) Regulations 1973. (2) Offences under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 2 as amended by the Road Traffic Act 1991 s. 2. (3) Fixed penalty notices paid i.e. no further action. (4) Will include fixed penalty notices issued but not paid and referred to court. (5) From 1980-1997 findings of guilt at all courts, numbers of court proceedings, are not available. From 1998 onwards covers total proceedings at magistrates courts. (6 )Data not available n/a = not applicable  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces and the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Motoring offences dealt with in, England, 1980  to  2005 
			  Number of offences 
			   Speed limit offences( 1)  Dangerous driving offences( 2) 
			   Written warnings  Fixed penalty notices( 3)  Court proceedings( 4)  Written warnings  Fixed penalty notices( 3)  Court proceedings( 4) 
			 1980 9,316 n/a 366,464 152 n/a 5,092 
			 1981 7,811 n/a 311,804 100 n/a 4,877 
			 1982 6,561 n/a 245,940 132 n/a 4,902 
			 1983 7,498 n/a 251,291 183 n/a 4,605 
			 1984 6,104 n/a 234,844 339 n/a 4,318 
			 1985 6,340 n/a 230,996 205 n/a 4,364 
			 1986 7,901 65,219 283,541 139 n/a 4,234 
			 1987 9,592 267,024 156,574 173 n/a 4,674 
			 1988 12,696 318,258 159,300 173 n/a 6,017 
			 1989 10,958 381,949 156,214 151 n/a 6487 
			 1990 12,192 421,548 156,286 184 n/a 7,107 
			 1991 18,746 424,555 150,807 226 n/a 7,105 
			 1992 10,842 438,928 143,323 185 n/a 6,328 
			 1993 24,090 375,844 96,561 552 n/a 5,695 
			 1994 23,912 454,234 101,721 289 n/a 5,645 
			 1995 28,053 509,405 115,508 277 n/a 5,829 
			 1996 24,188 565,091 124,541 333 n/a 5,217 
			 1997 31,751 669,409 123,999 338 n/a 5,372 
			 1998 24,747 730,146 154,181 246 n/a 8,785 
			 1999 19,592 775,001 155,041 89 n/a 8,458 
			 2000 21,981 926,760 143,625 59 n/a 8,238 
			 2001 15,530 1,117,409 141,672 50 n/a 8,641 
			 2002 5,209 1,383,694 133,955 31 n/a 9,759 
			 2003 4,850 1,900,037 149,234 44 n/a 10,334 
			 2004 6,048 1,824,892 153,478 44 n/a 9,392 
			 2005 5,498 1,797,950 175,379 65 n/a 7,703 
			 (1) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regulations 1973. (2) Offences under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 2 as amended by the Road Traffic Act 1991 s. 2. (3) Fixed penalty notices paid i.e. no further action. (4) Will include fixed penalty notices issued but not paid and referred to court. (5) From 1980-97 findings of guilt at all courts, numbers of court proceedings, are not available. From 1998 onwards covers total proceedings at magistrates courts. n/a = not applicable  Notes: 1: It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces and the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Drugs: Crime

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what percentage of those people accused of  (a) possession and  (b) dealing in cannabis were (i) found not guilty, (ii) fined and (iii) imprisoned in each year since 1997.

David Hanson: The following table shows persons proceeded against for offences of the possession and supply etc. of cannabis, which was a Class B drug until January 2004 and a Class C drug thereafter.
	Figures for 2006 will be published in mid-December.
	
		
			  Persons( 1)  proceeded against for cannabis( 2)  offences by outcome, England and Wales 1997 to 2005 
			  Persons found not guilty( 3)  Persons fined  Persons sentenced to immediate custody 
			  Offence  Statute  Year  Persons proceeded against  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 Possession of cannabis Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 sec 5(2) 1997 18,940 1,965 10.4 11,890 62.8 268 1.4 
			   1998 24,395 2,167 8.9 15,503 63.5 410 1.7 
			   1999 24,322 2,036 8.4 15,215 62.6 451 1.9 
			   2000 22,304 1,922 8.6 13,638 61.1 361 1.6 
			   2001 22,705 2,212 9.7 12,960 57.1 290 1.3 
			   2002 25,976 2,527 9.7 14,123 54.4 241 0.9 
			   2003 27,871 2,423 8.7 15,172 54.4 288 1.0 
			   2004 14,646 1,459 10.0 6.972 47.6 161 1.1 
			   2005 13,040 980 7.5 6,316 48.4 136 1.0 
			   
			 Dealing in cannabis (Possession of cannabis with intent to supply or offering to supply cannabis Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 secs 4(3) and 5(3) 1997 5,063 1,073 21.2 357 7.1 1,779 35.1 
			   1998 5,053 1,215 24.0 399 7.9 1,940 38.4 
			   1999 4,497 1.150 25.6 313 7.0 1,685 37.5 
			   2000 3,195 869 27.2 231 7.2 1,213 38.0 
			   2001 2,593 748 28.8 160 6.2 883 34.1 
			   2002 2,545 652 25.6 154 '6.1 805 31.6 
			   2003 2,790 691 24.8 144 5.2 697 25.0 
			   2004 2,142 408 19.0 122 5.7 576 26.9 
			   2005 2,176 306 14.1 87 4.0 407 18.7 
			 (1) Principal offence basis. (2) Cannabis was re-classified from a Class B to a Class C drug from 29 January 2004 and formal warnings for its possession introduced. (3) Includes proceedings discontinued, discharges under sec 6, charges withdrawn and charges dismissed at magistrates courts and not tried and acquitted at the Crown court.  Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.  Source: RDS-NOMS, Ministry of Justice.

Fines

David Clelland: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether any registered vehicle owner has been summoned to appear before a court for not paying a fine imposed for not returning a statutory off-road declaration in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I have been asked to reply.
	In the last financial year (2006-07) no summons were issued for failure to return a statutory off road declaration. However 107,550 county court claims were issued.

Fines

David Clelland: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether any registered vehicle owners appeared before a court for failure to pay a fine imposed for failure to return a statutory off-road declaration in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I have been asked to reply.
	The exact number of people who appeared before a court for failure to declare a vehicle off the road are not recorded but the number is very low.

Fixed Penalties

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many fixed penalty notices were unpaid after  (a) 28 days,  (b) three months and  (c) six months in (i) England, (ii) London and (iii) each London borough in each year since 1997.

Maria Eagle: Available information from 1997-2004 (latest available) is provided in the following tables. 2005 data will be available next year.
	The information collected by my Department identifies the number of motoring offences fixed penalty notices issued by result at police force area level. Data are collected on the disposal (i.e. paid, fine registration certificate issued etc.). However because of the time taken for the procedures for payment to be enforced the data are collected approximately nine months later than the period of issue and published in the following year's annual volume covering motoring offences.
	Motoring offences fixed penalty notices data are submitted to my Department on a calendar year basis from police forces. The data do not contain a month by month breakdown.
	
		
			  Table A: Motoring offences fixed penalty notices issued by result( 1)  London( 2) ,1997-2004 
			  Number of offences 
			  Result  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 Penalty paid within 28 days 189,860 176,343 145,939 151,845 134,464 143,188 210,542 228,679 
			 Payment accepted after 28 days 85,176 82,662 62,988 63,164 57,689 48,973 74,609 67,222 
			 No further action taken 20,869 19,601 32,122 30,491 6,739 7,238 8,486 5,744 
			 Fine Registration Certificate issued(3) 71,646 62,163 44,317 52,339 67,020 60,381 86,264 68,336 
			 Referred for court proceedings 3,528 3,504 4,829 2,319 2,449 2,290 3,146 2,451 
			 (1) Endorsable and non-endorsable notices combined. (2) Metropolitan and City of London police forces combined. (3) Includes outcomes not finalised.  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Annual volume 'Offences relating to motor vehicles, England and Wales, Supplementary tables'Table 21(a) 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Motoring offences fixed penalty notices issued by result( 1)  England, 1997-2004 
			  Number of offences 
			  Result  1997  1998  1999( 2)  2000( 2)  2001( 2)  2002  2003  2004 
			 Penalty paid within 28 days 1,708,525 1,791,766 1,641,894 1,606,430 1,583,908 1,718,020 2,204,334 2,189,052 
			 Payment accepted after 28 days 767,999 722,512 625,183 570,804 558,627 479,477 612,224 579,004 
			 No further action taken 244,179 214,360 211,397 181,438 120,805 92,575 79,306 77,999 
			 Fine Registration Certificate issued(3) 464,456 439,854 377,308 341,459 341,615 289,688 313,642 273,584 
			 Referred for court proceedings 30,044 28,014 18,994 14,253 13,796 11,756 10,646 11,536 
			 (1) Endorsable and non-endorsable notices combined. (2) Revised following amendments received from Essex police force area. (3) Includes outcomes not finalised.  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Annual volume 'Offences relating to motor vehicles, England and Wales, Supplementary tables'Table 21(a)

Fixed Penalties

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many penalty notices for disorder were issued in  (a) England,  (b) London and  (c) each London borough in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many people were issued with fixed penalty notices as a result of evidence from  (a) closed circuit television (CCTV) on buses in London in each year since 1997 and  (b) the live CCTV pilot on buses in London.

Maria Eagle: Information on the number of penalty notices for disorder issued in England and London for 2004 and 2005 are provided in the table. Data on the number of PNDs issued by London borough are not collected by my department. The Penalty Notice for Disorder (PND) Scheme was rolled out to all police forces in England and Wales in 2004 under the provisions of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001.
	Information on the type of evidence used to issue a PND is not reported to my department.
	
		
			  Number of penalty notices for disorder issued in England and London 2004 and 2005( 1) 
			  Police force area  Number issued 
			  London, City of  
			 2004 60 
			 2005 219 
			  Metropolitan  
			 2004 12,758 
			 2005 18,047 
			  England  
			 2004 61,260 
			 2005 138,262 
			 (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Fraud: Sentencing

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to introduce tougher sentencing for perpetrators of fraud, as recommended in the 2006 Fraud Review.

Maria Eagle: The Fraud Review recommended that the Sentencing Guidelines Council (SGC) issue guidelines in respect of fraud offences. The SGC has indicated that it intends to issue guidance on sentencing under the new Fraud Act 2006. On 16 August 2007, the Sentencing Advisory Panel issued a consultation paper on sentencing for fraud offences. The consultation will close on 6 December 2007.
	The Fraud Review also recommended increases in the maximum sentence for fraud offences. The Government are considering their response.

Magistrates Courts: Finance

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent on  (a) magistrates courts and  (b) administration of magistrates courts in (i) England, (ii) London and (iii) each London borough in each year since 1997.

Maria Eagle: HMCS was formed on 1 April 2005 by the merger of the Court Service and 42 magistrates areas.
	Following the creation of HMCS the accounting records of the Court Service were archived and accessing them to provide the information back to 1997 would be disproportionately expensive for the Department. Information is not recorded centrally on a London borough basis and to obtain this information would be disproportionately expensive.
	Expenditure on magistrates courts and the administrative costs of magistrates courts available since the inception of HMCS, have been provided in the following table:
	
		
			  000 
			   England  London 
			  Magistrates courts costs   
			 2006 349,854 72,244 
			 2007 360,600 66,117 
			
			  Administration costs of magistrates courts   
			 2006 137,419 23,224 
			 2007 119,168 19,712

Mohammed Ilyas Khan

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether any immigration cases previously adjudicated by  (a) Mr. Mohammed Ilyas Khan and (b) Judge J have been reopened following the investigation of the Office for Judicial Complaints.

Bridget Prentice: No asylum or immigration appeals adjudicated by Judge Khan or Judge J have been reopened following the investigation by the Office for Judicial Complaints.

Political Parties: Finance

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much each registered political party  (a) spent and  (b) raised by donation and reported to the Electoral Commission in each year since 2001.

Bridget Prentice: The number of registered political parties in the UK has fluctuated over the period 2001 to 2007. There are currently some 363 registered political parties in the UK.
	The information sought is not collected by the Ministry of Justice. The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA) requires each registered party to submit annual accounts to the Electoral Commission, the format and content of which varies according to the total income or gross expenditure incurred by a party or accounting unit. Parties are also required to report donations to the Electoral Commission each year. Details of all donations of more than 5,000 accepted by the party HQ and all donations of more than 1,000 accepted by a party accounting unit must be reported.
	The parties' donation reports, accounts and campaign expenditure returns are all published by the Commission and are available to view on their website.

Prison Service

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects to publish the Carter and Corston reviews on prison services.

David Hanson: Baroness Corston published her review of women in the criminal justice system on 13 March 2007. The Government have given a broad welcome to the report and are exploring the best way of taking forward the recommendations with all the departments and agencies concerned. We hope to be able to respond in a positive way before Christmas.
	Lord Carter of Coles' review is looking at the long-term future of the prison estate and at both the supply and demand of prison places. We look forward to receiving Lord Carter's report once he has reached a conclusion, and will respond in due course.

Prisoners Release

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of prisoners released in  (a) England and  (b) London were reconvicted in each year since 1997.

David Hanson: The following table shows the available figures for the two-year re-offending rate for adult offenders in England and Wales discharged from prison in the first quarter of each year.
	
		
			   Two year re-offending rate (Percentage ) 
			 2000 65 
			 2002 67 
			 2003 66 
			 2004 65 
		
	
	Prior to 2000, different data were used to calculate figures on re-offending, and these earlier figures are not comparable. Further information is available in the most recent Statistical Bulletin on adult re-offending which can be found at the Ministry of Justice website:
	www.justice.gov.uk
	The analysis does not include a breakdown by area.

Prisoners: Police Cells

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) police cells and  (b) custody suites in West Chelmsford constituency are occupied by serving prisoners who have been given a custodial sentence.

David Hanson: No police stations in the West Chelmsford constituency are currently being used to hold prisoners under Operation Safeguard.
	Prisoners held in police cells under Operation Safeguard are primarily adult male prisoners remanded in custody by the courts.

Prisoners: Sentencing

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners are being held on indeterminate sentences.

David Hanson: At the end of September 2007 there were 9,942 prisoners serving indeterminate sentences in prison establishments in England and Wales. This information is published monthly on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	www.justice.gov.uk
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisons

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were in prison in each London borough in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many of those in each case were from that borough.

Maria Eagle: There are eight prisons in seven London boroughs. The total numbers of prisoners and the numbers originating from each of these boroughs on 19 September 2007 are shown in the table as follows.
	
		
			  London boroughs with prison capacity  Total prison population in borough  Prison population originating from borough 
			 Greenwich 917 95 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,258 113 
			 Hounslow 607 28 
			 Islington 1,635 50 
			 Kingston upon Thames 190 Less than 10 
			 Lambeth 807 73 
			 Wandsworth 1,484 137 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

Prisons: Overcrowding

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent steps the Government has taken to reduce prison overcrowding.

David Hanson: We have announced a 9,500 capacity-building programme of which 700 new places will be delivered this year and 2,400 in 2008. New accommodation is being brought into use as quickly as possible and we are ensuring that we make the most of existing accommodation.
	Lord Carter of Coles is undertaking a review of prisons that will look at options both for increasing supply of prison places and for reducing demand for them. He will report his findings to the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Justice Secretary when completed.

Prisons: Suicide

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many suicide attempts there were in each Welsh prison in each year since 2003.

Maria Eagle: There is no definition of what constitutes an attempted suicide, as it is very difficult to measure suicidal intent, and therefore my Department is unable to provide the data requested. However, the following table gives details of all self-harm incidents and apparently self-inflicted deaths in each Welsh prison from 2003 onwards.
	
		
			   Prison  Self-inflicted deaths per prison  Self-harm (SH) incidents per prison( 1)  Total SH incidents 
			 2003(2) Cardiff 0 56  
			  Parc 0 326  
			  Swansea 1 62  
			  Usk/Prescoed 0 1  
			  Total   445 
			  
			 2004 Cardiff 0 99  
			  Parc 0 251  
			  Swansea 1 33  
			  Usk/Prescoed 0 1  
			  Total   384 
			 2005 Cardiff 1 74  
			  Parc 0 368  
			  Swansea 1 64  
			  Usk/Prescoed 0 1  
			  Total   507 
			  
			 2006 Cardiff 1 96  
			  Parc 1 285  
			  Swansea 0 63  
			  Total   444 
			  
			 2007(3) Cardiff 1 26  
			  Parc 0 163  
			  Swansea 1 43  
			  Usk/Prescoed 0 1  
			  Total   233 
			 (1) It is not possible to measure the number of self harm incidents with absolute precision. The reported numbers of incidents provide useful management information but should not be treated as absolute. (2) A new system for recording self harm was introduced in December 2002 and as a result the total figures for that year are not directly comparable with later years. (3) Year to date figure reported on IRS by 31 October 2007.

Prisons: Visits

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many visitors to prisons were found to be in possession of illegal drugs in each year since 1997; how many such visitors were referred to the police; and what steps were taken in respect of those not referred to the police.

David Hanson: A comprehensive framework is in place for dealing with visitors who seek to smuggle drugs through visits. The number of visitors suspected of involvement in drug smuggling incidents and the action taken internally by prisons along with the number of visitors arrested is detailed in the table.
	No record is kept of the number of visitors found to be in possession of illegal drugs but a good indication is the number arrested.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.
	
		
			   1999-2000( 1)  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Visitors suspected of smuggling drugs 3,144 3,282 4,030 3,502 3,598 4,283 5,422 3,393 
			 Visitors banned 2,464 2,584 2,941 2,625 2,730 2,092 3,574 2,729 
			 Visitors on closed visits 322 333 627 625 528 880 1,374 494 
			 Incidents involving visitor arrests(2) 735 509 529 405 456 444 440 383 
			 (1) The first year in which visits ban data became available. (2) Number of reported drug incidents in which a visitor was suspected of involvement and arrested by police. A particular incident may involve more than one arrest.

Probation Officers: Greater London

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many full or part-time probation officers there were in the Greater London area in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many full or part-time probation officers in the Greater London area left the service in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: Information is not available for the full period requested. Data collected prior to April 2003 were collated by a different source which did not break down the requested data by probation area and are not directly comparable with the more accurate figures collected since that time. Information on leavers was also unavailable for Quarter 1, 2003-04.
	The figures presented in the following tables show full-time equivalent (FTE) figures as at 31 December for each year and July 2003 respectively and relate to London Probation Region in its entirety. London Region was formed in 2001 following the merger of Inner London and Greater London Probation Areas.
	
		
			  Staff in Post in London Region, 2003-06 
			  Job  g roup  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Probation Officer 1,069.50 1,082.41 1,077.44 1,086.27 
			 Probation Services Officer 665.50 674.23 818.33 982.93 
			 Other 775.00 641.66 661.77 787.53 
			 Total Staff in Post 2,510.00 2,398.30 2,557.54 2,856.73 
		
	
	
		
			  Leavers in London Region, 2003-06 
			  Job  g roup  2003 (Quarters 2-4)  2004  2005  2006 
			 Probation Officer 80.00 120.40 106.90 55.50 
			 Probation Services Officer 25.00 45.40 67.00 44.90 
			 Other 88.50 119.10 70.00 60.30 
			 Total Leavers 193.50 284.90 243.90 160.70

Prosecutions: Alcoholic Drinks

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were prosecuted for selling alcohol to minors in West Chelmsford constituency in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: The number of persons prosecuted for selling alcohol to minors in Essex from 2001 to 2005 is shown in the following table. My Department are unable to provide data for the West Chelmsford constituency, as the data are not held at the required level of detail.
	In addition, the offence of sale of alcohol to a person under 18 can attract a penalty notice for disorder (PND) of 80. The offence was added to the scheme on 1 November 2004. Data on the number of PNDs issued in Essex in 2004 and 2005 for the offence are provided in the table. Figures for 2006 will be available shortly.
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and the number of penalty notices for disorder issued for offences related to the illegal sale of alcohol to persons aged under 18 in Essex, 2001 to 2005( 1, 2, 3, 4) 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Proceeded against 2 3 7 2 8 
			 Penalty notices for disorder issued n/a n/a n/a 7 120 
			 n/a = Not applicable. (The offence was added to the Penalty Notices for Disorder scheme on 1 November 2004). (1) Prosecutions data are provided on the principal offence basis. PND data are a count on PND tickets issued. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Covers offences under the following statutes. The Licensing Act 1964 S.169 A  B as added by Licensing (Young Persons) Act 2000 S.1, the Licensing Act 1964 S.181 A(1) as added by Licensing Act 1988 S.17 and the Licensing Act 2003 S.146 and 147, which came into effect from 24 November 2005, so data prior to 2005 is not available. (4) PND data covers the offence of sale of alcohol to persons under 18 under the Licensing act 2003 S.126.  Source: RDS, court proceedings database, Office for Criminal Justice Reform, Ministry of Justice.

Prosecutions: Fireworks

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many successful prosecutions there were for firework-related offences in  (a) 2003,  (b) 2004,  (c) 2005 and  (d) 2006.

Maria Eagle: Data showing the number of defendants found guilty of firework-related offences in England and Wales from 2003 to 2005 are in table A.
	In addition, under the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, Penalty Notices for Disorder (PND) can be issued for a number of offences: throwing fireworks in a thoroughfare under the Explosives Act 1875 and breach of the fireworks curfew, possession of category 4 fireworks, and possession by a person under 18 of an adult firework under the Fireworks Act 2003. The offences attract a fixed penalty of 80. Data on the number of PNDs issued for these offences in England and Wales in 2004 and 2005 are provided in table B. Data for 2006 will be available shortly.
	
		
			  Table A: Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for selected offences related to fireworks, England and Wales, 2003-05( 1,)( )( 2) 
			 Found guilty 
			   Offence description  Principal statute  2003  2004  2005 
			 11300 Control of gunpowder, safety fuses and other explosives. Manufacture and keeping of gunpowder and other explosives a). Summary only. Offences in relation to explosives, firearms, etc. Restriction relating to the manufacturing of fireworks. Emergency Laws (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1953 S.3 orders made under. Explosives Act 1875 (except S80 and orders in council and rules thereunder). Explosives Act 1923 and order in council and rules thereunder. Fireworks Act 1951. 10 24 20 
			 12301 Throwing, casting or firing any fireworks in or into any highway, street, etc. public place. Explosives Act 1875, Sec 80 36 55 26 
			   
			 13809 Knowingly or recklessly making a statement which is false in a material particular when a requirement to give information is imposed by or under fireworks regulations. Fireworks Act 2003 S.11 (3)(a)(b),(4)
			   
			 19601 Contravening a prohibition imposed by fireworks regulations. Fireworks Act 2003 S.11(1)(4)  8 66 
			   
			 19602 Failure to comply with a requirement imposed in or under fireworks regulations to give or not give information. Fireworks Act 2003 s. 11 (2)(4)   3 
			48 87 120 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: RDSOffice for Criminal Justice ReformMinistry of Justice 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Number of penalty notices for disorder issued for fireworks offences in England and Wales, 2004 and 2005( 1,)( )( 2) 
			   2004  2005 
			 Throwing fireworks 177 642 
			 Breach of fireworks curfew 12 33 
			 Possession of a Category 4 firework 12 13 
			 Possession by under 18 of adult firework 20 47 
			 Total 221 735 
			 (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (2) These offences became part of the Penalty Notice for Disorder scheme on 1 November 2004, data for 2003 are therefore not available.  Source: RDSOffice for Criminal Justice ReformMinistry of Justice

Victims: Compensation

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2007,  Official Report, column 298W, on victims' surcharge, which organisations and schemes have received funding from the proceeds of the victims' surcharge.

Maria Eagle: For this introductory year of its operation the Department has included the receipts from the victims surcharge, as an appropriation in aid, in its estimates for 2007-08. Under spending plans, parliamentary approved expenditure will be committed to the Crown Prosecution Service to support 165 witness service schemes under the No Witness No Justice initiative, to Victim Support for enhanced services to victims of crime, and for grants to organisations and schemes in the following list.
	 Organisations and schemes to be supported
	 Victims' Fund Grants (helping victims of sexual crime)
	Bradford Rape Crisis  Sexual Abuse Survivors Service
	CIC'ters
	Colchester Rape Crisis Line
	Coventry Rape Crisis
	Crisis Point
	Derbyshire Rape Crisis
	Doncaster Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Centre
	Galop
	Grimsby and Scunthorpe Rape Crisis
	HEAL
	Lilith Project
	Manchester Rape Crisis
	New Pathways
	No Limits
	Northamptonshire Rape and Incest Crisis
	Nottingham Rape Crisis
	One-in-Four
	Plymouth Rape and Sexual Abuse Line
	Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (North Wales)
	Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Service (Winchester)
	Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre Cheshire and Merseyside
	Redcar and Cleveland Women's Aid
	Respond
	Sexual Abuse and Incest Line (SAIL)
	Sexual and Domestic Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre
	Sheffield Women's Counselling and Therapy Service
	South Essex Rape and Crisis Centre
	Southampton Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre
	Step Forward
	Survivors Network
	Survivors Swindon
	Survivors UK
	The Rape and Sexual Abuse Violence Project (Birmingham)
	Twelve's Company
	VOICE UK
	Walsall Street Teams (The Jigsaw Project)
	WomanKind (Bristol Women's Therapy Centre)
	Women's Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre Cornwall
	Women's Support Network
	Worcestershire Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre
	 Organisations supporting victims of Homicide
	Barnardos
	Greater Manchester police
	North England Victims Association
	South Yorkshire Police
	Support After Murder and Manslaughter
	The Child Bereavement Trust
	Victim Support and Witness Service Teesside
	Victim Support Bedfordshire
	Victim Support London
	Victims of Crime Trust
	West Yorkshire police
	Winston's Wish
	 Organisations supporting victims of hate crime
	Bedfordshire Hate Crime Partnership
	BMEYPP
	Bradford Hate Crime Alliance
	Gender Identity Research and Education Society
	Greenwich Action Committee Against Racist Attacks
	Hounslow Community Safety Partnership
	Inclusion North
	Kirklees Safer Communities Partnership
	Northamptonshire Hate Crime Forum
	Partnership Community Safety Team
	Rochdale Metropolitan borough council
	STONEWALL
	The Intercom Trust
	Victim Support and Witness Services Greater Manchester
	Victim Support Kent
	 Services supporting Specialist Domestic Violence Courts (SDVCs)
	 Government office region:
	 London region:
	Advance (Hammersmith and Fulham); Women's Trust IDVA Service (Kensington and ChelseaWest London
	SDVC
	Croydon Women's AidCroydon SDVC
	London Domestic Violence Co-Ordinating Group (will be making allocations)
	Victim SupportBrent SDVC
	 Eastern region:
	Bedfordshire IDA Advisors
	Cambridgeshire IDV Advocacy ServiceHuntingdon
	Essex Probation ServiceEssex SDVC
	Leeway Women's AidNorwich SDVC
	Luton Independent IDA Advisors
	Peterborough city councilPeterborough SDVC
	Suffolk county councilIpswich SDVC
	Sunflower CentreWatford
	 East Midlands region:
	Derby CSPDerby SDVC
	Leicester DVIRPLoughborough
	Lincoln Women's AidWest Lines, Lincoln and Grantham
	Mansfield and Ashfield Women's AidMansfield
	Multi agency IDVA serviceChesterfield
	Northampton and Northern Sunflower CentresNorthants
	Women's Aid Advice CentreNottingham SDVC
	West Midlands region:
	Arch N StaffsN Staffs SDVC
	Birmingham and Solihull Women's AidBirmingham and Solihull SDVCs
	Coventry HavenCoventry SDVC
	Shropshire IDVA ServiceShrewsbury, N Shrops, Oswestry
	SOADASandwell SDVC
	Stafford Women's AidCannock Stafford SDVCs
	StonhamBromsgrove and Redditch, S Worcs, Kidderminster SDVC
	StonhamSE Staffs (Burton) SDVC
	Telford IDVATelford
	Victim SupportDudley SDVC
	Walsall DV ForumWalsall SDVC
	Wolverhampton DV ForumWolverhampton SDVC
	Yorkshire and Humberside region:
	Calderdale DV ForumCalderdale
	DV Services KeighleyBingley/Bradford
	ER Yorks council/DVAPEast Riding SDVC
	HALTLeeds SDVC
	Hull city council/DA PartnershipHull SDVC
	Its My Right and Scunthorpe Rape CrisisScunthorpe, Grimsby (and Cleethorpes)
	N Yorks Victim SupportScarborough and Ryedale SDVC
	Rotherham Women's AidRotherham
	Safe@homeWakefield
	Safer Doncaster PartnershipDoncaster SDVC
	Service TBCYork and Selby
	Sheffield DA ForumSheffield SDVC
	Victim S
	 South East region:
	Berkshire Women's Aid (Reading, Newbury, Maidenhead)
	Brighton and Hove IDVA Service
	County Council Community Safety DV Team (West Sussex: Worthing, Crawley)
	CRI Domestic Abuse Service (East Sussex: Hastings, Eastbourne, Lewes and Crowborough)
	Early Intervention ProjectPortsmouth SDVC
	East Berkshire Women's Aid (High Wycombe, Maidenhead)
	Island Women's Refuge (Isle of Wight)
	Milton Keynes Women's Aid
	Reducing the Risk of Domestic Abuse (N OxfordBanbury, Oxford)
	Refuge Kent DV Advocacy Service (Kent: Canterbury, Shepway, Ashford, Dover, Thanet)
	Southampton IDVA Service
	Victim Support Hampshire and Isle of WightNW Hants (Andover) SDVC
	Victim Support, NE Hants (Alton) SDVC
	 South West region:
	Bristol DA IDVA ConsortiumBristol
	Exeter Women's AidExeter SDVC
	Family MattersE Dorset (Bournemouth and Poole) SDVC; W Dorset (Weymouth) SDVC
	Gloucs DV Support and Advocacy ProjectCheltenham SDVC
	IDVA ServiceE and mid-West Cornwall (Bodmin and Truro)
	N Devon Women's AidBarnstable
	Plymouth Women's AidPlymouth SDVC
	S Devon Women's AidTorbay
	Service TBCNorth Somerset
	Somerset ChangeSedgemoor (Bridgewater) and S Somerset (Yeovil) SDVC
	Southside Family ProjectBath SW Region
	SurviveN Avon (Yate) SDVC
	Victim Support WiltsChippenham and Swindon
	 North East region:
	County Durham and DarlingtonDurham SDVC
	My Sisters PlaceTeesside (Cleveland) SDVC
	North Tees Women's Aid (Stockton)
	Wearside Women in NeedSunderland
	 North West region:
	Blackburn and Darwen District Women's AidBlackburn with Darwen SDVC
	Blackpool and Fylde IDVA Service
	Blackpool Advocacy ServiceBlackpool and Fylde
	Cheshire county councilChester SDVC
	Chorley and S Ribble Service
	Community Safety TeamWirral SDVC
	DV Family Safety Unit, Crewe Eastern Cheshire
	IDV Advocacy ServiceManchester
	Impact Housing AssociationCarlisle SDVC
	Knowsley DV Support ServiceKnowsley SDVC
	Lancaster and District Women's Aid
	MAPS TeamBurnley (Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale) SDVC
	Preston Independent DA Service
	Salford Women's AidSalford SDVC
	Service TBCSefton SDVC
	Star CentreRossendale (Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale) SDVC
	The Relationship CentreHalton SDVC
	Victim Support, West (Workington and Whitehaven) and South Cumbria (Barrow and Kendal)
	Warrington DA Support Services
	WAVEWigan SDVC
	Worst Kept SecretLiverpool SDVC
	 Wales region:
	Bridgend Women's AidBridgend SDVC
	Caerphilly CBC, Blaenau Gwent DA ServiceCaerphilly SDVC
	Cardiff Women's Safety UnitCardiff SDVC
	Carmarthenshire IDAA ServiceLlanelli
	DA Resource TeamMerthyr Tydfil
	Monmouthshire county councilGwent (Cwmbran) SDVC
	Neath Women's AidNeath Port Talbot SDVC
	Newport city councilGwent (Newport) SDVC
	Pontypridd Safety UnitRhondda Cynon Taff SDVC
	Service TBCBarry, Vale of Glamorgan
	Swansea Women's Aid/BAWSOSwansea SDVC
	Tai HafanPembrokeshireHaverford west SDVC
	Tai HafanWrexham SDVC
	Torfaen county borough councilGwent (Torfaen) SDVC
	Women's Aid and Cymdeithas Tai HafanLlandudno/ Prestatyn

Young Offender Institutions

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many young offender institutions there are in England; and how many places those institutions provide.

David Hanson: There are 20 establishments in England that only hold remanded or sentenced 18 to 21-year-olds and/or under 18-year-olds.
	
		
			  Establishment  Operational capacity( 1) 
			 Ashfield 400 
			 Aylesbury 444 
			 Brinsford 489 
			 Castington 410 
			 Cookham Wood 17 
			 Deerbolt 452 
			 Feltham 762 
			 Glen Parva 808 
			 Hindley 539 
			 Huntercombe 365 
			 Lancaster Farms 527 
			 Northallerton 252 
			 Portland 557 
			 Reading 287 
			 Rochester 392 
			 Stoke Heath 632 
			 Thorn Cross 321 
			 Warren Hill 222 
			 Werrington 162 
			 Wetherby 384 
			 Total 8,422 
			 (1) Operational capacity describes the total number of prisoners that an establishment can hold taking into account control, security and the proper operation of the planned regime. 
		
	
	There are also a number of young offender units within adult establishments. All women young offenders are held in accommodation designated for young offenders within adult women's prisons.

Young Offenders

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) 15,  (b) 16 and  (c) 17 year olds were on remand in each year since 1997 in each police authority area; and how many went on to serve a prison sentence.

Maria Eagle: The following table shows the number of 15, 16 and 17-year-olds held on remand in all prison establishments in England and Wales since 1997.
	
		
			   As at 30 June  each year 
			  Males and Females  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  Aged 15
			 Untried 46 48 29 35 41 33 29 37 38 32 38 
			 Convicted unsentenced 28 38 15 16 7 26 8 15 14 27 25 
			  Aged 16
			 Untried 114 100 106 82 69 99 81 74 78 98 98 
			 Convicted unsentenced 57 83 49 32 29 55 40 44 43 36 35 
			 
			  Aged 17
			 Untried 308 294 298 255 195 188 218 221 221 250 239 
			 Convicted unsentenced 253 214 215 154 117 117 96 119 92 130 109 
		
	
	The figures are not broken down by area because the numbers are small and the accuracy at this level of detail cannot be guaranteed.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	Data are not held centrally to identify how many of the 15-17 year olds went on to serve a prison sentence. However, data collected from the courts show that 50 per cent. of those remanded in custody go on to receive a custodial sentence (data published in table 4.8 of Criminal Statistics 2005, and website www.homeoffice.gov.uk)

Young Offenders

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many re-convictions of young offenders there were in each police authority area in each year since 1997; and what percentage this represents of all young offenders in each year since 1997.

David Hanson: Information on re-offending by juveniles by police force area is not currently available. Figures for re-offending by juveniles have been published for 2000, 2004 and 2005 for England and Wales, but the data sets used do not enable analysis by police force area.
	Prior to 2000, a different data source and methodology was used to calculate figures on juvenile re-offending, and these earlier figures are not comparable This is discussed in more detail and the most recent figures on juvenile re-offending can be found in Re-offending of juveniles: results from the 2005 cohort which can be found online at
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/reoffending-juveniles2005.pdf

Young Offenders: Sentencing

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many ( a) 15,  (b) 16 and  (c) 17-year-olds were given custodial sentences in each police force area in each year since 1997; and what average length of sentence was given to each group in each year.

David Hanson: The information requested is contained in the following tables.
	Figures for 2006 will be published in mid-December.
	
		
			  Table 1: Persons aged 15 to 17 sentenced to immediate custody by police force area and age, England and Wales, 1997 to 2005 
			  Number of persons 
			   1997  1998  1999 
			  Police force area  Age  15  Age  16  Age  17  Age  15  Age  16  Age  17  Age  15  Age  16  Age  17 
			 Avon and Somerset 11 30 55 9 26 48 2 21 45 
			 Bedfordshire 23 30 55 21 63 47 23 41 52 
			 Cambridgeshire 13 21 45 8 25 44 15 28 48 
			 Cheshire 13 41 58 18 29 60 21 27 63 
			 City of London   2   
			 Cleveland 24 50 73 19 30 77 17 30 66 
			 Cumbria 15 23 28 10 17 45 16 16 38 
			 Derbyshire 19 34 46 23 35 56 26 44 79 
			 Devon and Cornwall 19 37 49 7 31 66 13 17 59 
			 Dorset 4 12 28 5 13 32 15 16 30 
			 Durham 18 36 41 20 31 67 30 54 67 
			 Essex 30 65 91 19 62 112 26 37 83 
			 Gloucestershire 2 4 43 7 4 26 3 10 24 
			 Greater Manchester 90 182 316 94 182 290 117 185 280 
			 Hampshire 23 33 85 22 66 73 41 93 120 
			 Hertfordshire 9 14 37 6 13 26 5 18 34 
			 Humberside 20 52 77 33 46 87 20 57 91 
			 Kent 27 67 74 31 78 105 24 45 77 
			 Lancashire 30 76 120 31 65 113 27 78 104 
			 Leicestershire 56 72 100 26 63 110 28 69 95 
			 Lincolnshire  10 46 6 9 29 10 4 30 
			 Merseyside 34 64 112 24 67 115 30 74 83 
			 Metropolitan Police 174 311 544 166 316 494 151 329 513 
			 Norfolk 4 5 20 7 9 23 7 20 29 
			 North Yorkshire 12 28 36 10 23 38 15 22 56 
			 Northamptonshire 2 11 38 8 25 39 8 29 48 
			 Northumbria 51 121 141 47 105 171 41 102 190 
			 Nottinghamshire 42 72 125 37 76 113 43 64 120 
			 South Yorkshire 53 67 133 41 59 124 20 56 110 
			 Staffordshire 16 26 69 17 32 59 17 45 71 
			 Suffolk 3 16 23 8 11 28 7 23 45 
			 Surrey 7 17 16 6 16 19  10 17 
			 Sussex 9 43 63 10 56 70 14 28 63 
			 Thames Valley 8 43 80 14 47 73 12 38 83 
			 Warwickshire 9 12 23 3 9 19 11 15 24 
			 West Mercia 12 28 50 8 37 50 12 33 70 
			 West Midlands 97 200 332 94 208 335 103 220 358 
			 West Yorkshire 61 98 190 58 105 183 79 131 236 
			 Wiltshire 1 14 20 9 12 18 5 19 25 
			   
			 Dyfed-Powys 3 9 19 5 3 16 3 3 24 
			 Gwent 3 17 39 19 29 53 18 32 46 
			 North Wales 6 11 31 7 13 31 14 19 36 
			 South Wales 40 68 117 59 96 128 55 106 153 
			   
			 England and Wales 1,093 2,170 3,690 1,072 2,242 3,712 1,144 2,308 3,885 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of persons 
			   2000  2001  2002 
			  Police force area  Age  15  Age  16  Age  17  Age  15  Age  16  Age  17  Age  15  Age  16  Age  17 
			 Avon and Somerset 11 23 50 15 28 42 26 30 58 
			 Bedfordshire 18 20 40 14 17 44 19 24 24 
			 Cambridgeshire 13 20 40 15 30 28 7 23 34 
			 Cheshire 19 30 56 16 36 58 15 27 51 
			 City of London  
			 Cleveland 22 33 62 15 22 41 12 33 47 
			 Cumbria 16 20 35 18 33 38 15 25 23 
			 Derbyshire 21 34 46 19 38 46 14 40 76 
			 Devon and Cornwall 3 15 27 7 11 19 6 9 11 
			 Dorset 10 13 20 5 7 19 14 13 29 
			 Durham 13 32 52 13 28 42 12 23 30 
			 Essex 30 49 59 31 63 104 37 57 95 
			 Gloucestershire 6 16 36 6 12 12 13 13 8 
			 Greater Manchester 127 170 275 128 220 287 113 190 238 
			 Hampshire 59 72 111 34 53 90 47 55 86 
			 Hertfordshire 3 23 48 13 18 34 13 23 44 
			 Humberside 21 31 50 39 40 60 15 35 59 
			 Kent 32 42 64 42 55 88 29 33 77 
			 Lancashire 31 59 100 37 56 87 41 75 97 
			 Leicestershire 30 50 86 47 46 77 25 45 94 
			 Lincolnshire 3 9 29 3 19 33 12 15 17 
			 Merseyside 44 81 113 49 83 124 32 74 ,94 
			 Metropolitan Police 173 328 502 177 344 464 184 371 532 
			 Norfolk 7 19 20 13 13 22 5 17 15 
			 North Yorkshire 13 26 53 17 19 44 6 16 25 
			 Northamptonshire 12 8 33 3 24 16 10 18 34 
			 Northumbria 35 63 128 33 81 117 40 68 86 
			 Nottinghamshire 42 55 115 49 50 87 47 72 98 
			 South Yorkshire 43 67 100 36 58 85 33 55 99 
			 Staffordshire 4 44 51 42 34 66 23 38 69 
			 Suffolk 6 13 32 4 12 19 7 9 20 
			 Surrey 1 13 16 10 13 25 4 9 20 
			 Sussex 11 27 61 22 35 66 22 35 48 
			 Thames Valley 34 61 98 25 61 87 26 53 117 
			 Warwickshire 11 8 39 9 13 23 9 16 29 
			 West Mercia 23 32 56 23 42 63 18 37 53 
			 West Midlands 112 217 332 151 231 345 145 255 318 
			 West Yorkshire 69 113 169 53 139 181 82 129 160 
			 Wiltshire 5 15 30 5 5 15 11 15 17 
			   
			 Dyfed-Powys 1 11 17 8 11 7 5 12 7 
			 Gwent 8 18 32 5 13 21 6 12 17 
			 North Wales 7 28 30 23 18 29 13 27 27 
			 South Wales 55 92 147 71 89 96 45 91 127 
			   
			 England and Wales 1,204 2,100 3,460 1,345 2,220 3,251 1,258 2,217 3,210 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of persons 
			   2003  2004  2005 
			  Police force area  Age  15  Age  16  Age  17  Age  15  Age  16  Age  17  Age  15  Age  16  Age  17 
			 Avon and Somerset 12 39 47 11 32 58 12 24 39 
			 Bedfordshire 8 25 30 15 24 43 15 32 41 
			 Cambridgeshire 15 30 48 7 23 39 14 13 23 
			 Cheshire 14 50 42 15 19 48 22 42 78 
			 City of London   1   
			 Cleveland 10 26 41 15 17 33 8 28 29 
			 Cumbria 12 14 23 10 18 38 6 18 19 
			 Derbyshire 21 23 51 21 24 39 19 34 46 
			 Devon and Cornwall 4 8 9 1 6 13 6 12 13 
			 Dorset 10 11 16 10 12 12 6 11 21 
			 Durham 13 23 31 6 15 25 10 19 31 
			 Essex 40 46 78 25 66 84 28 48 63 
			 Gloucestershire 3 17 17 11 11 29 12 16 20 
			 Greater Manchester 90 148 218 106 155 236 74 158 230 
			 Hampshire 22 41 67 33 59 79 30 47 81 
			 Hertfordshire 12 24 34 7 17 43 14 39 32 
			 Humberside 19 36 68 47 55 46 34 46 69 
			 Kent 23 39 62 16 29 48 15 42 65 
			 Lancashire 35 46 70 35 46 69 25 47 91 
			 Leicestershire 22 34 72 17 38 60 15 28 42 
			 Lincolnshire 3 18 31 6 6 17 9 4 15 
			 Merseyside 43 59 123 34 63 103 44 66 100 
			 Metropolitan Police 163 237 374 163 275 432 146 270 387 
			 Norfolk 9 6 23 2 10 21 8 6 20 
			 North Yorkshire 8 10 30 7 10 24 6 21 21 
			 Northamptonshire 4 11 21 7 16 33 8 6 12 
			 Northumbria 27 51 75 28 35 62 21 51 58 
			 Nottinghamshire 42 59 100 28 68 75 42 60 97 
			 South Yorkshire 28 47 100 26 52 85 20 52 105 
			 Staffordshire 19 33 52 17 30 59 20 29 45 
			 Suffolk 5 14 26 15 24 26 18 16 31 
			 Surrey 4 25 11 3 11 22 8 15 13 
			 Sussex 21 43 29 15 30 36 17 22 56 
			 Thames Valley 22 33 66 13 29 64 9 27 61 
			 Warwickshire 1 1 15 2 7 13 8 10 18 
			 West Mercia 11 29 44 22 26 58 14 35 47 
			 West Midlands 112 167 265 131 191 275 93 164 234 
			 West Yorkshire 60 113 169 79 115 168 70 143 135 
			 Wiltshire 5 16 12 7 9 23 3 14 9 
			   
			 Dyfed-Powys  6 8 2 3 9 1 3 12 
			 Gwent 10 23 25 17 23 53 20 25 27 
			 North Wales 17 25 32 8 22 42 16 20 38 
			 South Wales 47 64 106 33 78 111 29 62 94 
			   
			 England and Wales 1,046 1,770 2,762 1,073 1,799 2,853 995 1,825 2,668 
			  Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.  Source: RDS-NOMS, Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Average determinate custodial sentence length1 for persons aged 15 to 17 sentenced to immediate custody by police force area and age, England and Wales, 1997 to 2005 
			  Average custodial sentence length 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001 
			  Police force area  Age  15  Age  16  Age  17  Age  15  Age  16  Age  17  Age  15  Age  16  Age  17  Age  15  Age  16  Age  17  Age  15  Age  16  Age  17 
			 Avon and Somerset 16.2 9.3 8.0 9.3 8.9 8.9 4.0 10.9 8.7 5.9 9.9 7.2 8.5 13.0 8.0 
			 Bedfordshire 6.7 6.9 5.0 11.5 6.1 7.9 7.2 8.7 7.2 4.6 16.8 9.8 10.1 7.2 13.1 
			 Cambridgeshire 8.5 135 11.7 10.1 7.9 9.8 5.1 5.5 7.9 11.5 11.6 11.5 9.9 11.8 8.7 
			 Cheshire 11.1 6.6 9.2 7.7 11.8 11.1 5.3 9.0 8.0 6.9 10.7 9.7 7.6 7.8 7.6 
			 City of London   18.0 
			 Cleveland 7.1 11.2 10.3 8.4 6.7 10.3 3.9 9.0 8.4 10.8 10.5 9.0 8.3 8.7 7.6 
			 Cumbria 3.5 4.7 8.4 10.9 6.4 5.0 13.4 5.5 6.2 4.9 7.7 7.7 6.1 7.3 7.2 
			 Derbyshire 8.7 8.3 11.1 12.3 10.1 7.7 11.5 10.8 10.1 8.2 8.6 8.0 8.7 7.2 10.2 
			 Devon and Cornwall 10.1 7.4 11.4 14.3 5.9 7.8 7.4 9.5 6.9 6.3 7.3 6.8 17.4 14.5 22.8 
			 Dorset 3.2 5.1 9.6 6.8 7.2 12.8 3.2 4.7 5.5 6.8 4.5 6.9 12.0 5.1 6.8 
			 Durham 5.9 9.3 8.6 6.2 7.4 8.7 3.1 3.7 5.9 6.2 9.3 9.1 6.5 7.1 9.7 
			 Essex 9.5 5.3 7.4 6.9 4.3 6.7 5.6 4.8 6.5 5.5 6.7 8.2 7.6 8.3 8.6 
			 Gloucestershire 2.0 3.5 8.7 8.6 7.8 5.4 2.3 5.5 6.4 17.0 5.0 9.1 7.0 8.3 7.7 
			 Greater Manchester 9.6 7.9 10.7 8.9 10.2 9.1 7.4 9.3 9.1 8.3 9.1 11.2 9.0 10.1 11.1 
			 Hampshire 12.6 12.9 10.1 7.7 4.1 7.5 8.7 6.3 7.3 7.5 7.7 7.5 8.2 7.7 7.4 
			 Hertfordshire 12.0 10.4 6.8 21.2 7.6 4.5 3.2 7.6 10.4 4.0 8.2 13.8 9.7 11.6 9.5 
			 Humberside 6.4 9.6 7.5 6.9 8.8 9.3 6.0 8.0 9.8 11.1 10.7 11.4 9.1 9.0 8.0 
			 Kent 9.1 8.0 8.6 9.1 6.4 6.1 4.6 6.1 7.4 12.0 7.5 9.3 6.1 9.7 7.3 
			 Lancashire 14.6 7.9 7.7 8.0 8.1 6.9 11.6 8.3 11.2 7.5 7.3 8.7 8.9 8.1 9.3 
			 Leicestershire 6.9 8.7 9.0 8.1 7.6 7.3 5.0 8.8 13.4 9.1 8.4 10.7 5.7 7.1 10.9 
			 Lincolnshire  6.4 8.3 4.3 3.7 7.5 17.6 6.8 6.6 17.3 6.7 8.1 19.3 7.0 7.8 
			 Merseyside 7.1 8.4 8.6 4.2 7.1 8.4 4.2 6.8 6.2 6.6 9.2 8.2 8.1 7.4 8.4 
			 Metropolitan Police 16.5 15.5 13.1 9.1 11.3 12.0 9.9 9.9 11.9 9.4 11.5 12.3 8.6 11.6 11.0 
			 Norfolk 3.8 10.0 9.2 5.8 3.0 8.6 2.9 4.9 5.7 4.6 7.5 9.5 5.1 5.5 6.5 
			 North Yorkshire 7.0 4.5 6.2 4.2 5.0 8.8 8.3 6.0 6.2 7.4 6.3 8.0 12.6 10.8 11.7 
			 Northamptonshire 5.0 5.5 8.4 7.9 10.6 8.3 7.2 8.1 8.9 5.8 13.0 11.5 4.7 20.3 16.6 
			 Northumbria 6.1 10.0 9.7 4.5 7.1 7.3 4.4 7.1 7.6 9.3 8.3 9.8 9.9 10.2 10.5 
			 Nottinghamshire 11.5 12.1 12.2 11.1 15.8 12.0 9.2 11.7 10.8 8.2 11.5 11.5 10.0 7.8 12.2 
			 South Yorkshire 10.9 10.4 10.8 8.4 9.9 11.2 10.7 7.9 7.6 10.9 10.2 10.1 11.7 12.7 12.0 
			 Staffordshire 7.5 7.5 7.8 4.5 9.8 7.5 7.9 6.7 7.3 19.0 9.8 10.9 7.0 7.0 9.8 
			 Suffolk 20.0 6.5 8.8 8.5 4.2 12.0 5.5 6.5 7.7 8.0 10.6 9.9 5.5 12.0 9.9 
			 Surrey 18.4 19.0 20.0 4.5 8.2 5.8  3.4 13.0 4.0 6.1 7.9 5.2 10.5 5.8 
			 Sussex 4.7 6.2 7.8 2.8 6.1 7.2 11.6 11.0 8.7 5.9 11.3 11.2 7.6 7.7 8.6 
			 Thames Valley 4.8 9.1 9.0 3.4 6.8 9.3 9.6 8.9 10.4 5.5 8.6 9.5 8.8 9.9 9.5 
			 Warwickshire 4.4 6.5 8.2 2.3 10.9 12.3 7.6 7.9 10.5 7.6 5.5 13.3 14.2 10.8 17.1 
			 West Mercia 8.6 11.6 14.3 6.4 10.0 11.1 7.2 8.4 9.2 7.5 10.8 12.9 7.0 7.9 10.3 
			 West Midlands 10.1 8.6 9.8 9.8 9.9 10.2 8.0 8.8 8.3 8.1 8.2 10.7 8.5 9.3 9.8 
			 West Yorkshire 9.4 10.0 9.2 8.7 8.7 10.7 8.9 8.2 10.3 8.5 12.1 11.0 8.4 10.4 11.9 
			 Wiltshire 2.0 15.8 8.8 8.8 9.3 9.4 2.6 8.6 6.7 12.4 8.3 10.8 12.4 6.8 8.4 
			 
			 Dyfed-Powys 6.7 18.0 7.1 23.0 3.3 5.4 13.0 2.7 4.6 4.0 6.1 10.5 5.0 12.7 5.4 
			 Gwent 5.0 13.3 5.3 8.1 5.1 8.2 5.2 3.5 5.5 9.8 17.4 6.2 15.2 12.2 13.9 
			 North Wales 16.5 5.5 7.5 7.7 9.8 8.4 7.4 13.7 5.7 6.6 8.4 11.3 6.9 9.4 8.4 
			 South Wales 6.4 8.7 9.9 6.8 8.3 7.7 6.8 7.1 7.8 7.2 9.0 10.3 7.7 8.2 8.2 
			 
			 England and Wales 10.2 9.8 9.9 8.3 8.7 9.2 7.7 8.2 8.9 8.3 9.5 10.4 8.5 9.7 10.1 
		
	
	
		
			  Average custodial sentence length 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  Police force area  15  16  17  15  16  17  15  16  17  15  16  17 
			 Avon and Somerset 7.5 12.2 13.6 9.5 7.4 9.3 9.5 11.4 12.2 8.7 7.8 10.2 
			 Bedfordshire 12.9 10.8 18.1 9.8 14.4 12.6 9.2 9.9 11.6 10.1 8.9 12.7 
			 Cambridgeshire 9.4 11.5 13.8 8.7 13.9 9.7 7.4 12.7 15.3 7.9 14.5 10.7 
			 Cheshire 13.9 9.9 12.2 7.9 11.4 8.8 7.5 18.2 11.5 10.3 13.2 10.3 
			 City of London  18.0   
			 Cleveland 14.3 13.7 13.5 7.2 14.5 15.4 14.0 9.2 10.4 14.5 13.5 9.7 
			 Cumbria 5.7 9.9 9.7 9.1 6.4 9.3 5.8 7.7 10.1 9.0 10.0 13.2 
			 Derbyshire 9.7 11.4 11.8 10.6 11.7 12.2 7.3 8.3 16.3 9.6 8.9 8.6 
			 Devon and Cornwall 14.3 19.0 12.2 5.0 14.4 22.2 24.0 20.7 24.5 14.7 19.5 19.8 
			 Dorset 5.4 6.8 15.9 5.0 4.9 8.4 15.0 5.5 5.8 9.0 20.7 10.1 
			 Durham 9.3 12.3 10.1 10.0 9.4 10.1 10.3 13.5 8.9 6.2 9.4 9.6 
			 Essex 10.7 9.4 6.9 6.4 7.0 8.6 8.1 8.2 8.4 5.4 9.0 10.3 
			 Gloucestershire 12.0 7.4 12.0 12.7 12.1 7.6 8.2 10.2 8.8 7.2 6.8 14.9 
			 Greater Manchester 11.9 13.2 11.8 9.8 10.6 12.5 8.3 10.0 11.2 8.5 10.4 9.8 
			 Hampshire 9.1 10.1 11.2 7.7 11.1 11.9 6.8 7.7 10.3 6.3 9.1 10.4 
			 Hertfordshire 16.2 19.1 12.0 7.0 8.8 20.0 10.9 8.6 14.1 5.0 9.4 10.6 
			 Humberside 6.5 11.3 13.4 7.6 9.4 10.0 9.8 9.7 11.5 7.2 7.7 10.5 
			 Kent 9.1 10.2 9.2 8.3 9.1 10.3 9.6 9.8 9.4 9.7 10.7 10.0 
			 Lancashire 11.2 10.4 10.5 7.3 9.4 10.1 10.9 10.3 10.4 8.2 8.6 13.9 
			 Leicestershire 8.5 8.4 14.2 7.4 7.7 9.5 10.1 10.2 13.1 13.1 10.4 10.9 
			 Lincolnshire 20.0 14.7 16.2 4.0 11.3 11.1 6.0 9.0 12.2 12.2 4.5 13.9 
			 Merseyside 6.6 10.0 13.2 8.0 8.9 9.3 9.5 8.0 11.7 7.8 10.0 11.1 
			 Metropolitan Police 12.3 10.6 14.4 12.0 12.9 14.1 11.3 13.3 15.9 10.8 11.9 14.2 
			 Norfolk 6.4 10.0 8.7 7.8 9.7 12.2 5.0 6.6 10.1 7.2 27.0 8.5 
			 North Yorkshire 9.7 15.2 11.0 12.2 10.8 8.3 9.7 7.4 8.8 13.6 11.9 10.6 
			 Northamptonshire 10.6 13.3 9.4 6.0 7.1 8.8 19.4 10.6 10.5 10.8 8.7 17.2 
			 Northumbria 11.4 8.6 11.2 7.6 8.4 10.8 14.8 7.8 9.4 9.4 11.9 11.3 
			 Nottinghamshire 9.1 13.1 13.4 14.7 11.9 14.9 11.1 12.9 13.9 7.6 8.8 11.9 
			 South Yorkshire 9.2 10.9 17.3 11.2 13.4 11.4 15.1 12.5 15.0 13.2 12.3 12.3 
			 Staffordshire 7.7 9.6 9.0 8.4 9.3 8.5 7.2 11.7 8.8 9.3 9.2 9.6 
			 Suffolk 9.1 20.3 13.4 6.8 7.3 12.5 8.0 8.1 10.5 5.6 5.8 7.7 
			 Surrey 4.5 16.7 8.9 10.5 10.2 9.1 10.0 9.6 14.1 8.8 6.4 17.5 
			 Sussex 7.6 7.7 14.9 10.8 8.9 11.2 7.9 11.9 11.7 6.5 12.1 11.2 
			 Thames Valley 11.3 9.5 12.2 9.8 7.0 11.6 14.9 12.4 12.3 7.2 9.0 9.1 
			 Warwickshire 15.6 9.5 13.8 4.0 12.0 12.3 24.0 14.0 9.8 6.2 25.8 11.1 
			 West Mercia 8.9 10.3 8.7 9.8 7.6 8.6 7.9 9.8 9.6 9.0 7.9 7.2 
			 West Midlands 9.6 9.7 10.8 8.6 9.9 10.7 8.9 8.6 10.9 8.4 10.1 10.2 
			 West Yorkshire 9.7 11.1 13.4 9.9 9.7 11.5 9.2 11.9 12.5 7.5 11.9 12.2 
			 Wiltshire 6.9 13.7 8.9 11.2 10.1 8.5 5.4 11.1 10.7 13.3 10.3 13.5 
			  
			 Dyfed-Powys 6.8 10.3 12.0  6.0 7.2 8.0 6.0 5.3 4.0 6.0 7.7 
			 Gwent 6.3 13.5 11.8 15.8 11.8 10.4 8.4 9.7 11.7 7.3 8.7 9.6 
			 North Wales 7.4 6.0 6.1 12.6 7.4 8.6 7.8 13.7 9.6 6.9 6.1 9.5 
			 South Wales 10.1 10.5 11.2 8.0 10.3 7.6 7.2 10.1 10.1 7.0 8.5 8.7 
			  
			 England and Wales 10.3 10.9 12.3 9.6 10.3 11.3 9.7 10.6 12.0 8.7 10.5 11.2 
			 (1) Excludes life and indeterminate sentences.  Notes: 1. Small numbers of persons may result in high average custodial sentence lengths. Where numbers are low, average custodial sentence lengths are susceptible to bias from individual cases and may not be representative of local sentencing practice. 2. These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.  Source: RDS-NOMS, Ministry of Justice

Young Offenders: Sentencing

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answers of 16 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 1027-28W and 22 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1252W, on disorder penalty notices, when he expects the evaluation of the pilot on the issuance of penalty notices for disorder to 10 to 15-year-olds to be completed; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The evaluation report will be published as soon as possible.

Young People: Alcoholic Drinks

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many penalty notices for disorder in relation to the sale of alcohol to a person under 18 years of age were issued in each police force area in England and Wales in each year since 2004; how many of these resulted in an unpaid fine in each area; and what the average level of fine was in each year.

Maria Eagle: The information requested on the number of penalty notices for disorder issued for selling alcohol to persons under-18 is provided in the following table.
	This offence attracts a penalty notice for disorder (PND) of 80. The offence was added to the PND scheme on 1 November 2004. Failure to pay the penalty or request a court hearing within 21 days, results in a fine of one-and-half times the penalty amount, in this case 120, being registered by the court. Data on the number of PNDs issued and fine registered for 2004 and 2005 are also provided in the table; data for 2006 will be available shortly.
	
		
			  The number of penalty notices for disorder issued for offences related to the illegal sale of alcohol to persons aged under-18( 1, 2) 
			   Penalty notices for disorder issued  Penalty notices for disorder fine registered 
			  Police force area  2004  2005  2004  2005 
			 Avon and Somerset  56  4 
			 Bedfordshire  2   
			 Cambridgeshire  11   
			 Cheshire  49  2 
			 Cleveland  33  1 
			 Cumbria  23   
			 Derbyshire  8  1 
			 Devon and Cornwall  82  7 
			 Dorset 22 22 2  
			 Durham 
			 Essex 7 120  6 
			 Gloucestershire  42  5 
			 Greater Manchester  127  22 
			 Hampshire 2 67 1 7 
			 Hertfordshire  3   
			 Humberside 2 45  3 
			 Kent  10  6 
			 Lancashire 30 190 1 22 
			 Leicestershire 2 46  4 
			 Lincolnshire  26  1 
			 Merseyside 2 73  15 
			 Metropolitan Police 21 161 3 16 
			 Norfolk 
			 North Yorkshire 
			 Northamptonshire 1 39  4 
			 Northumbria 1 48 1 3 
			 Nottinghamshire 9 117  17 
			 South Yorkshire 2 107  9 
			 Staffordshire  19  1 
			 Suffolk  19  1 
			 Surrey 
			 Sussex  63  2 
			 Thames Valley  12   
			 Warwickshire  3  1 
			 West Mercia 1 22  1 
			 West Midlands 6 114 2 13 
			 West Yorkshire 4 72  11 
			 Wiltshire  8  1 
			 Dyfed-Powys  18   
			 Gwent  20  2 
			 North Wales 1 58  10 
			 South Wales  123  13 
			  
			 England and Wales 113 2,058 10 211 
			 (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  (2) PND data covers the offence of sale of alcohol to person under-18 under the Licensing Act 2003 S126.   Source:  Office for Criminal Justice ReformMinistry of Justice.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Business: Royal Mail

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, if he will hold discussions with the chair of the National Consumer Council on the requirements of business users of the Royal Mail following its agreed merger with Postwatch and Energywatch.

Patrick McFadden: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State will hold discussions with the chair of the new National Consumer Council on a wide range of consumer matters including any plans the council may have in relation to problems faced by small businesses in the postal and energy sectors.
	The Consumers Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007 provides the new National Consumer Council with extensive powers to investigate complaints and the definition of consumer in the Act is sufficiently wide to incorporate small businesses. However the new National Consumer Council is an independent body and will consult on its priorities and how it intends to address the range of issues affecting consumers in its business plan.

Companies Act 2006

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which individuals and organisations his Department plans to consult on the commencement date for those provisions of the Companies Act 2006 which do not necessitate changes to Companies House processes and which were originally due to come into force on 1 October 2008.

Stephen Timms: The Government have invited comments from key stakeholders on the commencement date of provisions of the Companies Act 2006 which could still be commenced on 1 October 2008 because they do not necessitate changes to Companies House systems and processes. Officials have also discussed the commencement date of such provisions with stakeholders at a meeting of the Companies Act Implementation Advisory Group on 21 November, and have had separate meetings and discussions with other business organisations.

Companies: Registration

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many late filing penalties were imposed by Companies House in October  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2006; and how much revenue was raised by the Government through such late filing penalties in each year.

Stephen Timms: In October 2006 Companies House issued 15,969 late filing penalties with a value of 3,868,000. The actual revenue received in that month was 3,435,537.
	In October 2007 Companies House issued 17,397 late filing penalties with a value of 4,168,000. The actual revenue received in that month was 3,339,974.
	The total amount of late filing penalties collected and passed to the Treasury for the months requested does not relate to the amounts levied for the same periods as there is a time lag between penalties being issued and collected.

Consumers: Protection

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  if his Department will commission research on the effect of Postwatch's merger with the National Consumer Council and Energywatch on consumer protection;
	(2)  if his Department will put in place procedures to review the effect on consumer protection of the merger of Postwatch, Energywatch and the National Consumer Council.

Patrick McFadden: The new NCC is not scheduled to be vested with its full powers until 1 October 2008. It will require a further period after this before it is operating at its full capacity. The National Audit Office has already indicated that it has an interest in the merger outcomes and the Department will consult with the NAO about the timing and of and prospective approach to any future review.

Consumers: Protection

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent discussions his officials have had on protecting the interests of business consumers of mail services with particular reference to the merger of the National Consumer Council, Energywatch and Postwatch.

Patrick McFadden: Officials from the Department meet monthly with colleagues from Postwatch on all issues concerning complaints whether from vulnerable consumers or from small businesses.

Consumers: Protection

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what discussions his officials have had on the transitional arrangements in the process of merging the National Consumer Council, Energywatch and Postwatch, with particular reference to the interests of consumers.

Patrick McFadden: Officials from the Department are working in collaboration with colleagues from the National Consumer Council, Energywatch and Postwatch to draw up transition plans. The project is governed by a steering and delivery group comprising Department officials, the consumer bodies, Consumer Direct and the sector regulators for the postal services and energy sectors. Working groups are considering HR, IT, legal contracts, finance, complaints handling, policy and campaigns and communications.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what contribution his Department and its predecessor made to meeting the target to reverse the upward trend in carbon dioxide emissions from the Government estate by April 2007.

Malcolm Wicks: BERR and its predecessor, the DTI, and its executive agencies have reduced its carbon emissions from the estate by 14.4 per cent. since baseline levels (1999-2000) and have initiatives in place to further improve performance through awareness and energy efficient product trials.

Departmental Manpower

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many civil servants in his Department and its predecessor  (a) transferred to other Government Departments and  (b) left the civil service in each of the last five years.

Gareth Thomas: I refer the hon. member to the answer given by the Exchequer Secretary on 13 November 2007,  Official Report , column 203W.

Departmental Renewable Energy

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what percentage of the electricity used by his Department was generated from  (a) renewable sources and  (b) on-site microgeneration facilities in the last period for which figures are available.

Gareth Thomas: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The Department and its predecessorDTI, has purchased electricity from renewable sources since 1999. From October 2007 all HQ buildings have been supplied with green electricity where the Department is responsible for the purchase of electricity supply which compares favourably to the Sustainable Development target for energy target which is to buy 10 per cent. by 2008. The previous percentage was 36 per cent.
	 (b) The Department does not currently have any on-site microgeneration facilities on its HQ estate and therefore does not produce any energy from such a source. During May 2006 Future Energy Solutions (AEA Technology) in conjunction with the Carbon Trust were commissioned to perform a Renewable Energy Feasibility Study on the DTI HQ estate, now BERR. The Department are investigating the installation of feasible solutions where practicable and where leases permit.

Electricity Generation

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what proportion of electricity was generated by  (a) coal,  (b) oil and gas,  (c) renewables and  (d) nuclear sources, in each of the last five years, broken down by region.

Malcolm Wicks: This information is not compiled on a regional basis. This is because in some regions the information would relate to a small number of power stations and would thus disclose data given to this Department in confidence under the National Statistics Code of Practice. However, separate data for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England have been made available for 2004 and 2005. Corresponding 2006 data are due to be published in December 2007. The available data are as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Scotland  Wales  England and Northern Ireland( 1)  UK 
			  2004 
			 Coal 25.5 20.4 36.1 33.4 
			 Oil and gas 26.1 49.1 42.6 41.0 
			 Renewables 11.5 3.0 2.3 3.6 
			 Nuclear 35.3 20.8 17.7 20.2 
			 Other fuels(2) 1.6 6.7 1.3 1.8 
			 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 
			  
			  2005 
			 Coal 24.8 19.5 36.6 33.7 
			 Oil and gas 22.5 46.1 41.5 39.6 
			 Renewables 13.2 3.5 2.9 4.2 
			 Nuclear 38.2 22.6 17.4 20.4 
			 Other fuels(2) 1.3 8.3 1.6 2.1 
			 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 
			 (1) Separate data for Northern Ireland cannot be given. (2) Other fuels include hydro pumped storage, coke oven gas, blast furnace gas, and waste fuels from chemical processes.  Source:  Energy Trends, December 2006

Energy: Plymouth

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what progress has been made in establishing an energy park at Langage, Plymouth.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 19 November 2007
	The Energy Park is a private sector development being taken forward by Carlton Power Limited. Full planning permission has been obtained for land to the east of the energy centre, which is owned by Centrica, where high quality office accommodation is proposed in several phases.
	Carlton Power is now in discussion with the district council and with the south west of England regional development agency to establish how the development of the wider and strategic employment site can be taken forward.

Export Credit Guarantees: Iran

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with reference to the answer of 3 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1816W, on Iran: export credits guarantee, how many requests for Export Credit Guarantees Department cover for exports to Iran were received in each of the last five financial years; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer of 18 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1492W, on Iran: Export Credit Guarantees.

Export Credit Guarantees: Iran

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what has been the total level of UK export credit guarantee exposure with Iran in each of the last five financial years.

Malcolm Wicks: ECGD's exposure (future liabilities) to Iran, relating to both export credit guarantees and insurance, at the end of each of the last five financial years is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Financial year  Future liabilities ( million) 
			 2002-03 110.6 
			 2003-04 171.8 
			 2004-05 253.0 
			 2005-06 318.0 
			 2006-07 286.2 
		
	
	As at the end of October 2007, future liabilities stood at 275.4 million. In addition, there are around 29 million of outstanding claims relating to transactions supported in the pre-revolution period.

Export Credit Guarantees: Iran

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when the most recent UK export credit guarantees for trade with Iran were issued; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The most recent issued cover (an insurance product) was on 27 September 2006.

Fisheries: Compensation

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he expects to  (a) complete his review of the Icelandic Trawlermen's Compensation Scheme and  (b) make outstanding compensation payments under the scheme.

Patrick McFadden: The Government are reviewing the eligibility criteria and scheme rules for consistency with the policy intention underlying the scheme and hope to reach a conclusion shortly. There are no outstanding payments under the scheme.

Fuel Poverty

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform for what reasons his Department has not published the number of households in England in fuel poverty since 2004; and when he expects to publish that information.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government will publish shortly its annual progress report on fuel poverty covering 2005 which will include statistics of households in fuel poverty in England in 2005. The publication has been delayed to allow the Government to provide an update on the activities outlined in the Energy White Paper 2007.

Fuel: Prices

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the annual aggregate increase in fuel prices has been in each year since 2002.

Malcolm Wicks: The following table details the annual change in prices in each year since 2002, for gas and electricity to both domestic and industrial users. The last row shows the cumulative change in prices over the five years to 2006.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Domestic  Industrial 
			   Gas  Electricity  Gas  Electricity 
			 2002 6 -3 -5 -5 
			 2003 2 -2 0 -6 
			 2004 7 3 7 6 
			 2005 15 8 45 28 
			 2006 32 19 24 30 
			  
			 2001-06 54 27 83 57 
			  Note:  Prices are in real terms. Domestic prices are sourced from the Retail Prices Index. Industrial price data from BERR includes the Climate Change Levy.

Fuel: Prices

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what research has been  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated by his Department on the effect of a change in fuel prices on (i) food prices and (ii) the cost of living; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department actively monitors the effect of changes in fuel prices on the Government's energy policy goals, including those relating to fuel poverty, and also the impact on the UK economy. However, the Department has not commissioned any research looking specifically at the effect of changes in fuel prices on the cost of living and food prices.

Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he expects the Buncefield oil depot to re-open; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: It is not yet known when the Buncefield oil terminal complex will reopen.
	The Buncefield complex is of strategic importance for the supply of jet fuel to Heathrow and Gatwick airports. I understand that Dacorum borough council (DBC) are currently in discussion with the oil companies, concerning a proposal to commence jet fuel storage and supply only at this stage. The oil companies propose to delay recommencement of petrol and diesel storage and distribution until the findings of the Major Incident Investigation Board and the recommendations of the Buncefield Standards Task Group on standards and best practice have been fully considered and further discussions held with DBC and other stakeholders.
	A number of planning applications have been submitted to DBC and St. Albans district council by the oil companies and their agencies having facilities within the complex. These cover works required to repair and improve the sites to new safety and environmental standards. The determination of these applications is a matter for the councils concerned.

Industrial Disputes: Royal Mail

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the financial effect on Royal Mail of the industrial action in September 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: The Department has not assessed the financial effects of the industrial action on Royal Mail. This is an operational matter for the company. It is clear, however, that the strikes will have had some impact on the business although mitigating action was taken to advise customers to post mail on non-strike days. There is also the possibility that the industrial action may result in users of postal services moving to other means of communication.

Industry: Robots

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what funding his Department provides to encourage investment in industrial robots in the UK.

Stephen Timms: The Government support and encourage investment through a range of measures including tax incentives (e.g. capital allowances) and through business support schemes such as Selective Finance for Investment in England and its equivalent in the devolved administrations. In addition the Technology Strategy Board supports innovation and collaborative research and development into leading edge technologies including robotics and automation. The most recent competition under the Technology Programme announced on 8 November by John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, seeks proposals to develop new high value manufacturing techniques to secure the nation's future manufacturing base with research on the next generation of production techniques. We are also aware that the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council is currently supporting 19 robotics assembly and automated handling projects with funding of over 10.5 million.

Industry: Robots

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what his Department's policy is on appropriate levels of expenditure on industrial robots in UK manufacturing.

Stephen Timms: My Department has no policy on the appropriate levels of company expenditure on industrial robots. Government encourages and supports business investment through a range of policy measures but company investment decisions of this nature are a commercial matter for individual companies.

Industry: Robots

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what information his Department holds on the ratio of industrial robots to members of the workforce used in manufacturing in  (a) the UK,  (b) France,  (c) Germany,  (d) the USA and  (e) China.

Stephen Timms: My Department does not hold official statistics on the ratio of industrial robots to workforce. We are aware that the International Federation of Robotics provides statistical information of this type.

Internet: Fraud

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what discussions he has had with the UK banking industry about combating fraudulent phishing e-mails which appear to originate from individual banks and financial service providers.

Stephen Timms: My Department has no direct remit for monitoring the banking sector. Informal contacts between officials take place from time to time in the wider context of work on information security. The Home Office works with the banking industry to help combat the problems of spam and phishing.

Internet: Fraud

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what discussions he has had with internet service providers on reducing the quantity of fraudulent and unsolicited email sent to UK email addresses.

Stephen Timms: Many ISPs are taking active steps to prevent bad traffic reaching their customers and many have spam email boxes which enable their customers to complain about specific emails. Both Government and Ofcom are talking to the ISPs about how we might improve standards across the sector and how those improvements might be made more visible to end users. These discussions now need to reflect the recently published proposals from the European Commission regarding the review of the telecoms regulatory framework and which include recommendations designed to reduce the impact of spam.

Internet: Taxation

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on content on his Department's website which promotes the UK's favourable tax treatment of businesses.

Gareth Thomas: My Department's website carries a range of information of interest to business, including aspects of taxation. I have had no discussions with the Chancellor in respect of the BERR website.

National Grid: Electricity

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the distribution losses of electricity over the national grid in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Wicks: Losses between 2002 and 2006 (the last year for which data are available) are summarised as follows.
	
		
			   Losses (GWh) 
			 2002 29,980 
			 2003 29,862 
			 2004 30,728 
			 2005 30,638 
			 2006 30,918 
			  Source:  Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2007 
		
	
	Electricity is lost from both the National Grid's high voltage transmission system, and the distribution networks. In each of the years shown, losses from the transmission system were equivalent to approximately 1.5 per cent. of total electricity available, and approximately 6 per cent. of electricity available was lost via the distribution network. In addition, around 0.5 per cent. is accounted for by theft or meter fraud and accounting differences making about 8 per cent. losses in total.

North West Development Agency: Grants

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many  (a) research and  (b) development grants were awarded by the North West Development Agency in each of the last five financial years.

Stephen Timms: The research and development grants awarded by the North West Development Agency in each of the last five financial years are detailed in the following.
	
		
			   Research  Development 
			   Awards  Offers ()  Awards  Offers () 
			 2002-03 74 3,273,547 60 3,615,514 
			 2003-04 74 3,719,914 71 4,531,199 
			 2004-05 18 1,143,120 35 4,405,885 
			 2005-06 6 447,590 11 1,505,211 
			 2006-07 11 665,560 36 3,542,250

Nuclear Power Stations

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the capability of the  (a) Health and Safety Executive and  (b) Nuclear Installations Inspectorate to undertake the process of generic design assessment for new nuclear power stations.

Malcolm Wicks: Regulators, including the Health and Safety Executive and its Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, have developed resource plans to allow them to implement generic design assessment. Industry will, as now, meet the cost of licensing any nuclear plant.
	Before generic design assessments began, we carried out a prioritisation process to ensure that the regulators could focus their resources on those designs that have the greatest chance of being built. If the nuclear consultation concludes that the private sector ought to be able to choose to invest in nuclear, it is likely that there will be a further prioritisation process to reduce the number of designs being assessed from four to three.
	We continue to work closely with the regulators to ensure they have sufficient resource to carry out pre-licensing assessments within the 3 to 3.5 year timeframe.

Nuclear Power Stations

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether he expects the  (a) Health and Safety Executive and  (b) Nuclear Installations Inspectorate to hire external consultants to carry out the process of generic design assessment for new nuclear power stations.

Malcolm Wicks: The Health and Safety Executive and its Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, along with the other regulators, have developed resource plans to allow them to carry out the Generic Design Assessment work. The regulators will recover their costs from industry, as is currently the case for licensing of nuclear plants.
	The regulators will use suitably qualified staff to carry out the assessments. How the regulators organise themselves internally, including whether to use external consultants, is a matter for them.

Nuclear Power Stations

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what progress has been made by the Environment Agency on the process of pre-authorisation for new nuclear power stations; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The consultation document The Future of Nuclear Power, published on 23 May 2007 invited vendors of nuclear reactor designs who are interested in having their designs assessed through the Generic Design Assessment process to write to the regulators' Joint Programme Office by 22 June 2007.
	By this date, the regulators had received four applications for Generic Design Assessment.
	Following assessment of the applications by the Government, all four were found to have met the criteria set down in the consultation document and as a result, the regulators (the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency) agreed to assess all four designs in the initial stage of the generic design assessment process. A press notice setting out the outcome of the Government's assessment of applications was released on 5 July 2007. This, along with the letters of application sent by the vendors, and their letters of endorsement from operators, can be found on the BERR website.
	Following this step, the Environment Agency, along with the other regulators, have begun work on the generic design assessment process on a contingent basis, pending the outcome of the nuclear consultation.

Nuclear Power Stations

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the capability of the Environment Agency to undertake the process of pre-authorisation for new nuclear power stations.

Malcolm Wicks: The regulators, including the Environment Agency, have developed resource plans to allow them to implement generic design assessment. Industry will, as now, meet the cost of licensing any nuclear plant.
	Before generic design assessments began, we carried out a prioritisation process to ensure that the regulators could focus their resources on those designs that have the greatest chance of being built. If the nuclear consultation concludes that the private sector ought to be able to choose to invest in nuclear, it is likely that there will be a further prioritisation process to reduce the number of designs being assessed from four to three.
	We continue to work closely with the regulators to ensure they have sufficient resource to carry out pre-licensing assessments within the three to three and a half year timeframe.

Nuclear Power Stations

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether he expects the Environment Agency to hire external consultants to carry out the process of pre-authorisation for new nuclear power stations.

Malcolm Wicks: The Environment Agency, along with the other regulators, have developed resource plans to allow them to carry out the Generic Design Assessment work. The regulators will recover their costs from industry, as is currently the case for licensing of nuclear plants. The regulators will use suitably qualified staff to carry out the assessments. How the regulators organise themselves internally, including whether to use external consultants, is a matter for them.

Nuclear Power Stations: Sellafield

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has made any request, or otherwise indicated, that it wishes to extend the operating life of the B205 reprocessing plant at Sellafield beyond its current planned closure date of 2012.

Malcolm Wicks: The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has indicated, in its recently published three-year Business Plan, that logistical issues at Sellafield mean that it will not be possible to complete reprocessing of spent fuel from Magnox reactors within the original planned time scales. Consequently, it is likely that the reprocessing of Magnox spent fuel, which was due to be completed by around 2012, will not be completed until 2016 or later.
	The NDA is committed to consulting widely on the implications of any changes to the currently approved Magnox Operating Plan version 7.

Office of Fair Trading: Manpower

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the full-time staff complement of the Office of Fair Trading is; and how many of its employees receive an annual salary  (a) between 50,000 and 100,000,  (b) between 100,001 and 150,000 and  (c) above 150,000.

Gareth Thomas: holding answer 22 November 2007
	 Full-time complement of OFT is 735, made up of 626 filled roles and 109 vacancies.
	
		
			  Those receiving salaries of  Number 
			  (a) between 50,000 and 100,000 96 
			  (b) between 100,001 and 150,000 4 
			  (c) above 150,000 4

Part-Time Employment

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the cost to date to  (a) private sector and  (b) public sector employers of meeting the requirements of the (i) Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 and (ii) Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002.

Patrick McFadden: Estimates of the costs and benefits of implementing the Part Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations were published in the 2000 Compendium of Regulatory Impact Assessments (URN 06/1164), while estimates for the Fixed-Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations were published in the 2002 Compendium of Regulatory Impact Assessments (URN 05/582). Both publications are available from the BERR website. The Department continues to monitor the impact of these and other Regulations closely as part of BERR's ongoing employment relations monitoring and evaluation programme.

Post Offices: Closures

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will make a statement on the proposed closure of Lancelyn Court Post Office.

Patrick McFadden: The Government do not have a role in proposals or decisions for individual post offices and final decisions on which post offices will close will be taken by Post Office Ltd. (POL) in light of the responses received to the area consultations.

Post Offices: Closures

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many responses have been received to the six-week consultation over proposed post office closures in East Essex and Suffolk.

Patrick McFadden: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. I have therefore asked Alan Cook, managing director of POL, to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Post Offices: Closures

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many submissions from  (a) the general public,  (b) local authorities and  (c) others he received on each post office in Nottinghamshire in response to the recent consultation on post office closures.

Patrick McFadden: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of POL, to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Post Offices: Rural Areas

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the likely number of rural post offices which will be open in November 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: None. This is a matter for Post Office Ltd. Post Office Ltd.'s local decisions will need to reflect the Government's aim of supporting a national network of post offices and to comply with the access criteria requirements set by Government. It is expected that there will be roughly similar numbers of closures in rural and urban areas.

Royal Mail: Finance

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which consultancy firms have been engaged by his Department to provide advice on the funding of Royal Mail over the last 12 months; and what the projected cost of each such contract is.

Patrick McFadden: In the last 12 months, my Department has engaged Deloitte, Herbert Smith, Credit Suisse and Strategia on work relating to the Government's funding for Royal Mail. The collective costs for the 12 months to end October 2007 were 3.8 million. For reasons of commercial confidentiality, it would not be appropriate to break this down to the individual costs for each adviser.

Small Businesses: Tax Allowances

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many small businesses in Eastbourne constituency applied for small business tax relief in each of the last five years.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is not available. However, as at 31 December 2006, there were 802 businesses in the Eastbourne borough council area that were in receipt of small business rate relief.

Small Businesses: Tax Allowances

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many small businesses in West Chelmsford constituency applied for small business tax relief in each of the last five years.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is not available. However, as at 31 December 2006, there were 938 businesses in the Chelmsford borough council area that were in receipt of small business rate relief.

Supermarkets: Alcoholic Drinks

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the effect on fair competition of supermarkets selling alcohol at cost price.

Gareth Thomas: Ensuring markets operate freely and fairly is a matter for the independent competition authorities, rather than for Government.
	In its preliminary findings from its inquiry into the UK groceries market the Competition Commission (CC) said
	below cost selling by national retailers is not part of a predatory strategy aimed at convenience stores or specialist stores and is not having significant unintended effects on smaller stores.
	Appendix 5.6 of the provisional findings covered below-cost selling and as part of the assessment, looked specifically at the extent of below-cost selling of alcohol during the football World Cup in 2006. This assessment is located at
	http://www.competition-commission.gov.uk/inquiries/ref2006/grocery/prov_findings/prov_find_app_5_6.pdf
	Parties have until 30 November to submit comments on the CC's provisional findings and possible remedies. The CC is due to publish its final report by May 2008.

Tax Avoidance: Advertising

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform for what reason advertisements for the tax avoidance services provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers have appeared on his Department's website.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform is not aware of any advertisement of the tax avoidance services provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers on its website. It is not BERR's website policy to endorse the services and products of commercial organisations.
	However, it is possible to access the PricewaterhouseCoopers website from the BERR website search engine results page. That site does contain information on the company's tax services.

Tax Avoidance: Advertising

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much his Department received from PricewaterhouseCoopers for the advertisements placed on his Department's website which promote that company's tax avoidance services.

Gareth Thomas: No such advertisement for PricewaterhouseCooper's tax avoidance services has been placed on my Department's website, so no payment has been received.

Telent

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the proposed closure of the Telent site in Chorley;
	(2)  what discussions his Department has had with the Pensions Corporation on pension rights for existing Telent employees;
	(3)  what support has been given to Telent by  (a) the North West Development Agency and  (b) Government Office North West.

Stephen Timms: Discussion with the Pension Corporation over the pension rights for Telent employees is a matter for the pensions regulator. BERR has had no such discussions.
	I have also been advised that neither the Northwest Development Agency or nor the Government office for the north-west have given assistance or support to Telent Ltd. However, the NWDA is willing to meet either my hon. Friend or the company if that would help.

Toys and Games: Safety

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  how much he has allocated to assist facilities commissioned to monitor and test imported toys for health and safety issues;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to reduce the importation of toys with high levels of heavy metals to the UK.

Gareth Thomas: The Toys (Safety) Regulations 1995 which govern the safety of toys sold in the UK are enforced by local authority trading standards departments (TSDs), who check toys placed on the market to ensure that they comply will all the essential safety requirements of the regulations including those regarding heavy metals. I have asked TSDs to step up their enforcement efforts in light of the recent toy recalls.
	We have not allocated any additional funds to TSDs as enforcement of the regulations is part of their usual regime on the enforcement of consumer product legislation, funded through the normal local authority funding arrangements for which the Department of Communities and Local Government is responsible.

Trade Promotion

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will estimate the return per 1 spent on trade promotion by UK Trade and Investment in the latest period for which figures are available. [R]

Gareth Thomas: Performance of UKTI trade services is monitored through independent surveys of UKTI clients carried out on behalf of UKTI by OMB Research, with results published quarterly.
	The surveys consistently demonstrate that the services enable companies to up-grade their export capabilities, and overcome barriers to overseas markets, resulting in improved business performance.
	Latest survey results show estimated total financial benefit to businesses of around 2.5 billion annually, across all UKTI trade services.
	An independent evaluation of four UKTI trade services published in March 2006 found that 65 million generated benefit of some 1.13 billionin other words 17 benefit for each 1 UKTI spend.
	In 2006, an evaluation by consultants SQW of the International Trade Teams in the English regions estimated that the services they deliver produce benefit of 25 per 1 UKTI spend.

Employees: Carers

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment his Department has made of the effect of care responsibilities on work-life balance for employees; and what assessment has been made of the potential merits of a care voucher scheme.

Jane Kennedy: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government are keen to ensure that people with caring responsibilities can make the most of opportunities to balance work with their caring responsibilities.
	They will look carefully at the costs and benefits of any further proposals, including whether it is the most effective mechanism for tackling the issues faced by carers, particularly those experienced by specific groups, when making an assessment of the case for intervention in this area.
	The Government keeps tax reliefs under review and has received representations in this area. However, it does not believe that allowing employers to provide employees with tax and NICs free care vouchers is the most appropriate, fair or cost effective way of tackling the issues faced by carers.

PRIME MINISTER

Departmental Wines

Michael Penning: To ask the Prime Minister if he will take steps to ensure that English wine is served exclusively or at the request of guests at meals, parties and receptions hosted by his Office; and if he will make a statement.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Edward Miliband) on 22 November 2007,  Official Report, column 1094W.

Departmental Written Questions

Julian Lewis: To ask the Prime Minister whether it is his practice to attach to Written Answers hard copies of earlier replies cited in such Answers where these were previously given to hon. Members other than the hon. Member to whom the Answer is addressed.

Gordon Brown: Yes.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Firearms

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many firearm certificate applications were made in each police service of Northern Ireland district command unit area in each of the last three years; how many of these applications were  (a) granted and  (b) declined; how many applicants appealed against a decision to decline an application; and how many of those appeals were (i) upheld and (ii) dismissed.

Paul Goggins: The Chief Constable has provided the information in Table 1 in relation to firearm certificate applications.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			   2005( 1)  2006( 2)  2007 (to date) 
			   Granted  Refused  Granted  Refused  Granted  Refused 
			 Applications 11,984 270 27,690 247 16,476 159 
			 (1) 2005 statistics are available only from 1 February 2005 when a new computer system was introduced to take account of the provisions of the Firearms (Order) 2004.  (2) The increased number of applications dealt with in 2006 reflects the carry forward of a significant backlog of cases received in 2005.   Note:  Applications received in 2005, 2006 and 2007 cannot be attributed by the computer system to individual District Command Units. Such analysis could be done only at disproportionate cost to public funds. 
		
	
	The figures for firearms appeals are given in Table 2.
	
		
			  Table 2 
			   Late appeals not accepted  Refused  Allowed  Withdrawn  Part refused/allowed 
			 2005 7 45 4 5 1 
			 2006 3 27 5 0 1 
			 2007 3 26 4 0 0 
		
	
	As the result of an administrative error, an incorrect figure of 147 was recorded in an earlier PQ (123488) for applications refused in 2006. The figure should have read 247.

Handguns: Registration

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average length of time taken to process firearm certificate applications in Northern Ireland was in each of the last 18 months.

Paul Goggins: The Chief Constable of the Police Service for Northern Ireland has provided the following information in relation to the average processing time for firearm certificates:
	
		
			  Table 1 
			  2006  Average Processing Time (Number of Days) 
			 May 89 
			 June 89 
			 July 64 
			 August 52 
			 September (1)39 
			 October (1)28 
			 November (1)33 
			 December 62 
			 (1) These returns reflect a reduction in the number of applications received during this period. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 
			  2007  Average Processing Time (Number of Days) 
			 January 48 
			 February 62 
			 March 74 
			 April 69 
			 May 58 
			 June 54 
			 July 51 
			 August 58 
			 September 60 
			 October 50

Police: Finance

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the policing budget is for Northern Ireland in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the change in budget on numbers of police officers available for duties over the next 12 months.

Paul Goggins: The total policing budget for Northern Ireland in 2007-08 is 1,236,081,000. The NIO has received its CSR07 settlement from HM Treasury but work is currently ongoing on how this will be allocated across the Department. Until this is completed I am not in a position to advise on the final allocation for policing in Northern Ireland for 2008-09.
	The Government remain completely committed to the proper resourcing of the PSNI to ensure that it is equipped to deliver effective policing for the benefit of everyone in Northern Ireland. PSNI budget, per head of population, is more than any other police service in the UK and Northern Ireland has more police officers than comparable parts of the UK.

Sex Offenders: Registration

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were on the sex offenders register in Northern Ireland in each of the past six years.

Paul Goggins: The total number of sex offenders in Northern Ireland subject to the notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 was as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 31 March 2007 670 
			 31 March 2006 620 
			 31 March 2005 544 
		
	
	The majority of persons who come under the notification requirements are subject to a notification period of five years or more and the annual increase largely reflects the number of new convictions.
	As a breakdown of figures for sex offenders subject to the notification requirements was not recorded on an annual basis until 2005, I am not able to provide the information requested for 2002, 2003 and 2004.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Departmental Correspondence

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what percentage of inquiries received by his Office from the public were responded to within  (a) one week,  (b) 14 days,  (c) 28 days,  (d) two months and  (e) three months in the last period for which figures are available; and in what percentage of cases it took (i) over three months and (ii) over one year to respond.

Edward Miliband: Details of departments' and agencies' handling of correspondence from MPs and Peers is published on an annual basis. The most recent statistics were published by way of a written ministerial statement on 28 March 2007,  Official Report, column 101WS. Information for 2007 will be published as soon as it is ready after the end of the calendar year.

Departmental Responsibilities: Security

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which Government department will take primary responsibility for the UK's national security strategy announced in his statement to the House on 25 July.

Edward Miliband: The Cabinet Office, working with all interested Departments and Agencies, is co-ordinating the production of the National Security Strategy.

Members: Correspondence

Greg Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells on charities and political campaigning dated 30 October.

Edward Miliband: A reply was sent to the hon. Member today.

National Security

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he expects to publish the UK's national security strategy as announced in his statement to the House on 25 July.

Edward Miliband: I refer the hon. Member to the statement my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made to the House on 14 November 2007,  Official Report, column 667.

Opinion Leader Research

Theresa May: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many contracts were awarded by the Cabinet Office to Opinion Leader Research in each year since 1997; and what was  (a) the title and purpose,  (b) the cost to the public purse and  (c) the dates of (i) tender, (ii) award, (iii) operation and (iv) completion and report to the Office in each case.

Edward Miliband: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) and the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 9 October 2007,  Official Report, column 530W, and the answer given to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) by the then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Hilary Armstrong) on 13 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1038W.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Leader of the House 
	(1)  how much her Office spent on staff working on  (a) marketing and  (b) branding in the last 12 month period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how much her Office spent on managing its corporate identity in the last 12 month period for which figures are available.

Helen Goodman: None.

Legislative Drafting: Public Participation

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Leader of the House what regional events were held in the West Midlands for organisations and stakeholders to discuss the Government's draft legislative programme published in July with the Minister for the West Midlands; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Goodman: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given on Wednesday, 21 November 2007,  Official Report, column 933W.

Regional Government: Ministers

Helen Southworth: To ask the Leader of the House 
	(1)  what mechanisms are in place for regional Ministers to account to Parliament;
	(2)  if she will establish a regular oral question time to allow regional Ministers to be questioned by hon. Members.

Helen Goodman: All Ministers are accountable to Parliament. The Government are considering how best to take forward the ideas in the Governance of Britain Green Paper for committees to reflect the English regions. The Modernisation Select Committee of the House of Commons announced an inquiry into Regional Accountability on 11 October and the Government expect to submit a memorandum to that Committee.
	There are no current plans for a specific question slot to be given to regional Ministers.

Written Questions

Julian Lewis: To ask the Leader of the House if she will advise Ministers to adhere to the practice of attaching to written answers hard copies of earlier replies cited in such answers where these were previously given to hon. Members other than the hon. Member to whom the answer is addressed.

Helen Goodman: It is standard practice to provide Members with a copy of any previous response which is referred to in an answer to a question.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Crisis Loans

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what criteria are used to assess eligibility for a crisis loan;
	(2)  what steps are being taken to ensure that the appeal process for refused social fund applications is accessible and easy to use;
	(3)  what process applicants must go through to prove their eligibility for a crisis loan;
	(4)  what steps are being taken to ensure that those living in rural communities can easily access a crisis loan;
	(5)  whether those visiting Jobcentre Plus to access a crisis loan are offered an alternative to a telephone claim.

James Plaskitt: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 29 November 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply direct to your questions asking about the criteria used to assess eligibility for crisis loans, the process applicants must go through to prove their eligibility to crisis loans, what steps are being taken to ensure that the appeal process is accessible and easy to use, steps being taken to ensure those living in rural communities can easily access a crisis loan and whether those visiting Jobcentre Plus to access a crisis loan are offered an alternative to a telephone claim. These are things that fall within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The criteria used to assess eligibility for a crisis loan are that the applicant:
	has immediate short term needs in an emergency or as a consequence of a disaster;
	is 16 or over and has no other means or getting help; and
	shows that a crisis loan is the only way that serious damage to their own health or safety or that of their family can be avoided.
	Applicants must prove their eligibility for a crisis loan by providing a Jobcentre Plus decision maker with sufficient information to determine their application. Our preferred method of taking this information is by telephone where the customer requires a loan for living expenses. However, those customers unable to use the telephone, or where money is being requested to buy an item or service, should submit a written application by post or in person. Irrespective of the method of application, applicants have to provide full details of their circumstances and the effect of the emergency or disaster. They must also give details of their financial situation including other possible sources of help.
	Jobcentre Plus is sensitive to the needs of those customers living in rural communities. Many Jobcentre Plus offices already offer a crisis loan application service by telephone and travel warrants can be provided to those customers who have no money to meet fares incurred in collecting their payment from a Jobcentre Plus office.
	Customers who visit a Jobcentre Plus office are advised about the benefits of the telephone application process, including the availability of the free phone number. If this does not suit the customer, they can make a written crisis loan application.
	The review process that applies to the discretionary social fund is straightforward and widely publicised in Jobcentre Plus leaflets, application forms and decision letters. To request a review of a decision, applicants need to write to Jobcentre Plus. A review is then conducted which normally involves an interview over the telephone. If after the review decision, they are still dissatisfied with the outcome of their application they can write to the Independent Review Service for a further review.
	I hope this is helpful.

Departmental Flexible Working

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff  (a) have applied to work flexible hours and  (b) work flexible hours (i) in the Department and (ii) the executive agencies for which the Department is responsible.

Anne McGuire: For the last full year for which headcount statistics are held (year ending 31 December 2006), 41,187 (33.9 per cent.) of employees in the Department for Work and Pensions, and its executive agencies, worked part-time. Included within that figure are employees taking advantage of the various options available to employees to assist their work/life balanceterm-time working, compressed working weeks, job sharing, and home working, in addition to what is normally regarded as part-time working. We do not collect the figures for those who have applied to work part-time.
	The Department has in place a process which allows parents, adopters, guardians or foster carers of children under six years of age or of disabled children under the age of 18, and for carers of adults, to apply to work flexibly in line with legislation. It additionally accepts requests from any employee with over 26 weeks in the Department who wishes to apply to work a flexible working pattern. Any employee with over 26 weeks in the Department may apply to change working pattern twice a year.
	Flexible start and finish times are offered by all businesses within the Department, with the details of each scheme being tailored to their business requirements. Employees and their managers are thus able to accommodate informal arrangements where the needs of the Department and the individual can both be accommodated, without the need for recording a formal change to working pattern.

Departmental NDPBs

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the  (a) budget and  (b) remit is of each non-departmental public body sponsored by his Department; who the chairman is of each; and to what salary, including bonuses and expenses, each chairman is entitled.

Anne McGuire: The information requested with regard to the non-departmental public bodies sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions can be found on the Department's internet site at the following location
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/ndpb/public_bodies.asp#ndpb.

Departments: Disabled

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 29 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 784-9W, on departments: disabled, where the information on which of the buildings of which his Department is the major occupier are fully accessible to disabled people is held; and how many of the buildings of which his Department is the major occupier have had audits to determine whether they are fully accessible to disabled people.

Anne McGuire: Accessibility audits were commissioned in 2004 for all of the 1,191 buildings where my Department is the major occupier. The resultant national programme of works to improve access for disabled people was completed in 2006. Building accessibility is subject to review annually. Information on building accessibility is held at individual site level.

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will break down the figures referred to in the answer of 23 October 2007,  Official Report, column 237W, on Departments: official hospitality, giving the amount spent on each function at which hospitality expenses were incurred.

Anne McGuire: The information requested is not available centrally in the format requested and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

Jobcentre Plus: Advisory Services

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of advice given by Jobcentre Plus that was provided  (a) face-to-face,  (b) by letter,  (c) online and  (d) by telephone in the last period for which figures are available.

Caroline Flint: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Leslie Strathie, dated 26 November 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning what estimate has been made of the proportion of advice given by Jobcentre Plus that was provided face to face, by letter, online and by telephone in the last period for which figures are available. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	I have not made an estimate of the proportion of advice provided by Jobcentre Plus face to face, by letter, online or by telephone. This information is not routinely collected and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Jobcentre Plus: Advisory Services

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what steps his Department takes to monitor how Jobcentre Plus personal advisers spend their working time; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect of diary support officers on the amount of time that personal advisers at Jobcentre Plus are able to spend with clients.

Caroline Flint: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie , dated 26 November 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions about the steps being taken to monitor how Jobcentre Plus personal advisers spend their working time and what assessment has been made of the effect of diary support officers on the amount of time that personal advisers at Jobcentre Plus are able to spend with clients. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus monitors the use of personal advisers working time with an internal tool the Adviser Achievement Tool.
	The Adviser Achievement Tool sets national benchmark levels on the number of interviews expected and activities that should take place in these interviews. Advisers who do not meet the minimum standards must agree an Adviser Improvement Plan with their manager. The plan records appropriate, specific, timebound actions the adviser will take, with support from their manager, to improve their performance.
	In September 2006 Jobcentre Plus put in place a new Advisory Services Model to support Personal Advisers, which introduced the Diary Administrative Support Officer job role.
	A review of the new Advisory Services Model concluded that its introduction has led to better support for Personal Advisers and freed up time to spend with customers. As an example, Personal Advisers' telephones are now routinely transferred to Diary Administrative Support officers during interviews to minimise interruptions.
	The clearest indication that the new Advisory Services model is working can be seen in the increased Advisory productivity rates. End of year performance to 2006/07 indicated an increase from 28 to 30 interviews per week per adviser.
	I hope this is helpful.

Jobcentre Plus: Advisory Services

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what training is provided to Jobcentre Plus personal advisers to enable them to meet the demands of clients with unusual or distinct needs.

Caroline Flint: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Leslie Strathie, dated 26 November 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning what training is provided to Jobcentre Plus personal advisers to enable them to meet the demands of clients with unusual or distinct needs. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus has a comprehensive programme of blended learning designed to equip advisers with the full range of knowledge and skills required to support all customers. Our training package provides the adviser with the key knowledge and skills to interview customers and enable them to work effectively with specific customer groups, for example, lone parents, and people who are sick or have a disability.
	In addition, those advisers who work with disabled customers receive additional training to equip them with the necessary skills to support the most disadvantaged, disabled customers move towards sustained employment.
	I hope this is helpful.

National Insurance: Elderly

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) women aged 60 and over and  (b) men aged 65 and over will have accrued 30 years national insurance contributions before April 2010.

James Plaskitt: The latest information available indicates that at the end of the financial year 2003-04 there were around 60,000 women and around 10,000 men between state pension age and age 80 who had accrued exactly 30 qualifying years for basic state pension.
	 Notes:
	1. Figures refer to people who are estimated to be resident in the UK in 2003-04.
	2. Entitlement to basic state pension depends on a number of factors including the number of qualifying years accrued, Home Responsibilities Protection and the spouse's contribution record.
	3. Detailed information is not available for people aged 80 and over due to archiving of records from the National Insurance Recording System.
	 Source:
	Lifetime Labour Market Database 2, 2003-04

Older Workers

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what form the 50+ face-to-face guidance work options pilot project is expected to take;
	(2)  how many people aged 50 years will be consulted by each of the six contractors participating in the 50+ face-to-face guidance work options pilot project.

Caroline Flint: The pilot will look at innovative ways of encouraging people to seek information when they are thinking about how and when to retire as well as making use of flexible working options to help them remain in work or work for longer. It will test different communication methods depending on the geographical area and population and will focus on the delivery of face-to-face guidance tailored to the particular needs of the individual. The contractors will use their knowledge of the local labour market, employers, and other organisations in the local area to design and test out different formats.
	In addition, this will test how many people aged 50 and over will be attracted to take up the guidance on offer by each of the contractors. We will be closely monitoring levels of participation generated by each of the contractors.

Pension Credit: Overpayments

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many overpayments there were of pension credits in each of the last three years; what the average sum involved was; and how much has been or is expected to be recouped from the executors of deceased pension credits claimants.  [Official Report, 3 March 2008, Vol. 472, c. 21MC.]

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 13 November 2007
	 The information relating to the volumes and average value of all pension credit overpayments identified in the last three years are in the following table:
	
		
			   Volume  Average value () 
			 2004-05 23,000 240 
			 2005-06 59,000 230 
			 2006-07 169,000 547 
		
	
	The large increase in overpayments identified in 2006-07 reflects the Department's effort in improving the management and recovery of overpayments and in reducing error in the benefits system, including the identification and removal of error from the pension credit caseload. The increase in average value in 2006-07 is due to the priority attached to tackling high value error and the fact that overpayments identified could have existed since the introduction of pension credit in October 2003.
	Information relating to how much has been recovered from executors of deceased pension credit claimants is only available from 2006, and is in the following table. Information relating to how much is expected to be recouped is not available.
	
		
			   Amount recovered () 
			 2006-07 4,869,000

Pensions: Financial Assistance Scheme

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Financial Assistance Scheme has paid out to members of pension schemes wound up before 6 April 2005 with insufficient funds to cover all entitlements since its inception; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The Financial Assistance Scheme has paid out a total of 10,244,178 to 3,243 members of qualifying schemes as of 16 November 2007.

Population

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the percentage change in the working age population was in each year since 1977; and what the size of the working age population was in  (a) 1977,  (b) 1997 and  (c) 2006.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 26 November 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question regarding the percentage change in the working age population in each year since 1997, and what the size of the working age population was in a) 1977, b) 1997 and c) 2006 (167625).
	The attached table shows the working age population and the percentage change for the years requested. The latest population estimates available are for mid-2006.
	
		
			  Table 1: Working age population( 1)  of England and Wales and annual percentage change 
			  Mid-year  Working age population( 1)  Percentage change from previous year 
			 1977 29,055,000  
			
			 1997 31,473,000  
			 1998 31,591,000 0.4 
			 1999 31,771,000 0.6 
			 2000 31,977,000 0.6 
			 2001 32,226,000 0.8 
			 2002 32,435,000 0.6 
			 2003 32,626,000 0.6 
			 2004 32,856,000 0.7 
			 2005 33,164,000 0.9 
			 2006 33,417,000 0.8 
			 (1) Working age population is 16-59 for females and 16-64 for males.  Note: Data are rounded to the nearest 1,000.  Source: Office for National Statistics

Population: Pensioners

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the estimated ratio of people of working age to pensioners was in each constituency in England in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2007; and what the figure is expected to be in 2017.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 26 November 2007:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your questions regarding what the estimated ratio of working age to pensioners was in each constituency in England in (a) 1997 and (b) 2007; and what the figure is expected to be in 2017. (167574)
	ONS does not have parliamentary constituency population estimates for the whole of England, for 1997 or 2007, or population projections for parliamentary constituencies. I am therefore unable to answer the questions asked.

Social Fund

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether budgeting advice is offered to Social Fund claimants.

James Plaskitt: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 26 November 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply direct to your question asking whether budgeting advice is offered to Social Fund claimants. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	At the outset of any new claim to benefit all clients are interviewed by advisers who will identify and address, where required, appropriate financial help. Furthermore, advisers are equipped with information on a range of organisations that can help with free financial and debt advice. Advisers can make appointments with the local Citizens Advice Bureau or other appropriate partner organisations. Jobcentre Plus continues to advise and support the customer throughout their claim.
	For Social Fund applicants in particular, there is information in the budgeting loan decision letter on where to get help and advice. Also, the Social Fund part of the Jobcentre Plus website signposts customers to sources of money and debt advice.
	In addition the Now Let's Talk money campaign was formally launched within DWP on 30/07/07. Its purpose is to help people who may not know that they can get free face-to-face money and debt advice and who do not normally have access to affordable credit and loans, credit union or basic bank accounts. Now Let's Talk Money is funded by the Treasury as part of a 126 million Financial Inclusion Fund to help people who are financially excluded.
	I hope this is helpful.

Social Security Benefits

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons his Department's Green Paper, In Work, Better Off did not consider options for a single system of working age benefits; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The Green Paper In Work better off: next steps to full employment looks to achieving the next steps to the Government's long-term aim of full employment. We continue to modernise the benefit system with major reform of housing benefit and incapacity benefit scheduled for next year.
	We want to go further, but recognise that fundamental change to the system would take many years to implement and would affect most people. Change on this scale would require wide public debate and engagement and a degree of consensus if it is to be carried through. The Department will consider the best way to initiate such a public debate and will put forward proposals next year.

Training: Older Workers

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people  (a) over 55 years of age and  (b) in retirement have made use of (i) grants and (ii) training schemes available through his Department to learn new job skills in each of the last three years.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is not available.

Unemployment: Young People

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many young people were not in education, employment or training in each local authority area in  (a) 1997 and  (b) the latest year for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department's estimate of the number and proportion of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) cannot be disaggregated to regional or local authority level. However, we can give an indication of the number of 16, 17 and 18-year-olds(1) NEET in 2006 in England from data provided by Connexions services, and this is given in the table. Figures for 1997 are not available.
	Data provided by Connexions services are used to set and monitor local authority NEET targets. However, it should be noted that figures are calculated on a different basis from that used in the Department's estimates, and therefore do not give the same totals.
	(1) Connexions service figures relate to calendar age (rather than academic age as is used in the Department's participation estimates).
	
		
			  Proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds NEET: 2006 ( 1) 
			   16 to 18-year-olds NEET 
			   Estimated number  Percentage 
			  South-east   
			 Bracknell Forest 180 6.4 
			 Reading 400 7.3 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 140 4.2 
			 Slough 240 5.4 
			 West Berkshire 240 5.2 
			 Wokingham 150 4.8 
			 Kent 2,970 6.4 
			 Medway 620 6.1 
			 Buckinghamshire 450 3.2 
			 Milton Keynes 490 6.5 
			 Oxfordshire 900 4.8 
			 Portsmouth 460 9.9 
			 Southampton 640 9.4 
			 Isle of Wight 260 5.9 
			 Hampshire 2,140 5.2 
			 Surrey 960 3.3 
			 Brighton and Hove 710 10.9 
			 East Sussex 1,170 8.0 
			 West Sussex 1,050 4.5 
			
			 London   
			 Camden 380 7.5 
			 Islington 550 8.6 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 190 7.9 
			 Lambeth 510 10.5 
			 Southwark 610 11.7 
			 Wandsworth 400 6.0 
			 Westminster 260 6.5 
			 Barking and Dagenham 730 11.4 
			 Bexley 480 6.9 
			 City of London 10 1.1 
			 Greenwich 840 12.0 
			 Hackney 670 13.1 
			 Havering 590 6.1 
			 Lewisham 500 6.7 
			 Newham 950 10.8 
			 Redbridge 430 4.8 
			 Tower Hamlets 680 10.9 
			 Barnet 510 4.8 
			 Enfield 690 7.0 
			 Haringey 630 12.5 
			 Waltham Forest 540 6.3 
			 Bromley 510 5.0 
			 Croydon 830 8.1 
			 Kingston 180 3.4 
			 Merton 200 6.7 
			 Richmond 140 4.0 
			 Sutton 340 4.8 
			 Brent 450 6.7 
			 Ealing 500 7.8 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 280 8.4 
			 Harrow 360 5.3 
			 Hillingdon 710 7.0 
			 Hounslow 600 8.3 
			
			 East of England   
			 Bedfordshire 920 7.2 
			 Luton 620 9.4 
			 Cambridgeshire 900 5.4 
			 Peterborough 610 9.5 
			 Essex 2,890 6.9 
			 Thurrock 450 7.8 
			 Southend 530 7.0 
			 Hertfordshire 1,670 4.6 
			 Norfolk 2,040 7.9 
			 Suffolk 1,780 8.4 
			
			 South-west   
			 Bournemouth 400 8.5 
			 Dorset 770 6.8 
			 Poole 290 6.2 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 1,060 6.1 
			 Devon 1,300 6.0 
			 Plymouth 710 7.4 
			 Torbay 320 6.8 
			 Gloucestershire 920 4.6 
			 Somerset 760 4.8 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 260 4.2 
			 Bristol 950 7.8 
			 North Somerset 250 4.8 
			 South Gloucestershire 390 5.0 
			 Swindon 580 8.3 
			 Wiltshire 740 6.0 
			
			 West Midlands   
			 Birmingham 3,920 11.4 
			 Solihull 690 8.0 
			 Dudley 840 6.4 
			 Sandwell 1,140 15.6 
			 Walsall 870 9.1 
			 Wolverhampton 960 10.8 
			 Coventry 950 8.7 
			 Warwickshire 1,150 6.7 
			 Herefordshire 290 5.5 
			 Worcestershire 920 5.5 
			 Shropshire 450 5.2 
			 Telford and Wrekin 530 9.1 
			 Staffordshire 2,050 7.6 
			 Stoke on Trent 1,430 16.1 
			
			 East Midlands   
			 Derby 710 8.4 
			 Derbyshire 1,480 7.1 
			 Leicester 1,200 9.9 
			 Leicestershire 1,080 5.5 
			 Lincolnshire 1,130 5.0 
			 Rutland 10 2.0 
			 Northamptonshire 1,420 6.4 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,220 4.9 
			 Nottingham 930 8.0 
			
			 Yorkshire and the Humber   
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 620 5.6 
			 Kingston upon Hull 1,330 14.1 
			 North East Lincolnshire 660 9.8 
			 North Lincolnshire 570 9.2 
			 Barnsley 900 12.3 
			 Doncaster 1,180 11.5 
			 Rotherham 1,130 10.8 
			 Sheffield 1,680 10.5 
			 Bradford 1,560 9.8 
			 Calderdale 640 9.7 
			 Kirklees 1,420 9.7 
			 Leeds 2,170 9.1 
			 Wakefield 1,230 10.6 
			 York 420 5.9 
			 North Yorkshire 880 4.8 
			
			 North-west   
			 Cheshire 1,260 5.4 
			 Warrington 450 7.0 
			 Cumbria 950 5.8 
			 Bolton 1,170 12.7 
			 Bury 550 8.0 
			 City of Manchester 1,760 11.4 
			 Oldham 750 8.8 
			 Rochdale 720 12.1 
			 Salford 750 10.2 
			 Stockport 810 8.8 
			 Trafford 490 7.3 
			 Tameside 720 9.1 
			 Wigan 1,140 9.9 
			 Halton 540 11.8 
			 Knowsley 690 13.7 
			 Liverpool 2,040 13.2 
			 Sefton 870 7.6 
			 St. Helens 680 10.0 
			 Wirral 1,210 10.0 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 600 8.6 
			 Blackpool 620 8.8 
			 Lancashire 2,820 7.5 
			
			 North-east   
			 Durham 2,060 12.9 
			 Northumberland 980 10.0 
			 Darlington 330 6.7 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 610 9.9 
			 Middlesbrough 870 13.7 
			 Hartlepool 400 11.1 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 610 11.9 
			 Sunderland 1,320 13.3 
			 Gateshead 750 12.3 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 1,120 9.4 
			 North Tyneside 700 11.4 
			 South Tyneside 550 11.3 
			 (1) 2006 data are an average  Notes: 1. 16 to 18-year-olds known to be undertaking a Gap Year, or in custody, are not recorded by Connexions as NEET 2. The percentage and number NEET has been adjusted to assume that a proportion of young people whose current activity is not known are NEET.

Carers: Voucher Schemes

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of an employer-supported care voucher scheme on his Department's target to increase the employment rate of people over 50 years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what consideration he has given to the effect of care responsibilities on women in work; and if he will assess the potential of a care voucher scheme, similar to that in operation for child care, to enable carers to balance better work and caring.

Jane Kennedy: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government are keen to ensure that people with caring responsibilities can make the most of opportunities to balance work with their caring responsibilities.
	They will look carefully at the costs and benefits of any further proposals, including whether it is the most effective mechanism for tackling the issues faced by carers, particularly those experienced by specific groups, when making an assessment of the case for intervention in this area.
	The Government keep tax reliefs under review and has received representations in this area. However, they does not believe that allowing employers to provide employees with tax and NICs free care vouchers is the most appropriate, fair or cost-effective way of tackling the issues faced by carers.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Housing: Property Transfer

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many applications for gap funding have been received in the latest round of housing stock transfers, broken down by local authority area.

Iain Wright: As my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning mentioned in her answer to a question from my hon. Friend on 18 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1646W, 22 applications for places on the 2006 Housing Transfer programme were received from 14 local authorities in respect of housing stock which have a negative valuation. The list of authorities is given in the following table.
	
		
			  2006 Disposals programme 
			  Local authority  
			 Brighton and Hove city council Whole 
			 Castle Morpeth Whole 
			 Chester-le-Street Whole 
			 London borough of HaveringMardyke Partial 
			 Manchester-East Area Partial 
			 Manchester-Inner South Partial 
			 Manchester-South Partial 
			 North West Leicestershire Whole 
			 Plymouth Whole 
			 Ribble Valley Whole 
			 Salford Whole 
			 SheffieldHarold Lambert and Manor Park Partial 
			 SheffieldRichmond Park Partial 
			 SheffieldWoodthorpe and Lower Manor Partial 
			 SheffieldWybourn Partial 
			 Tamworth Whole 
			 Torridge Whole 
			 Tower HamletsChicksand East Partial 
			 Tower HamletsDigby and Greenways Partial 
			 Tower HamletsLibra Parnell Partial 
			 Tower HamletsSt. Stephens Estate Partial 
			 Wansbeck Whole

Expenditure: Bournemouth

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much money has been allocated by the Government office of the south west to the Bournemouth area in each of the last five years.

Parmjit Dhanda: Most Communities and Local Government funding allocations are decided centrally rather than by Government offices. However Government office for the south-west has had responsibility for administering the 169 million European Social Fund regional programme over the last five years.
	Due to the nature of the funding arrangements it is difficult to disaggregate amounts specifically for Bournemouth, because the funding is allocated on the basis of the boundaries used by Learning and Skills Council and Jobcentre Plus which for this area cover Bournemouth, Poole and Dorset. Some projects operate in just one area, some in all three local authority areas and some are regional. Government office has allocated 13.4 million to projects operating across this area over the period. Of this amount 6.4 million has been allocated directly by GOSW and a further 7 million has been allocated to the area through the Learning and Skills Council and Jobcentre Plus.
	Specific information on the value of projects in Bournemouth could be provided but would require mapping the detail of individual projects. It would be too costly to obtain information at this level of detail.

Housing: Energy

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many qualified domestic energy assessors there are in  (a) England,  (b) Essex and  (c) the Maldon district.

Yvette Cooper: The most recent data as at 5 November provide the following information on the number of accredited domestic energy assessors in England, Essex and the Maldon district.
	
		
			   Domestic energy assessors 
			 England 4,995 
			 Essex 164 
			 Maldon 4

Housing: Low Incomes

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what further steps she plans to take to increase the supply of  (a) affordable shared equity and rented family homes and  (b) key worker housing in (i) East Worthing and Shoreham and (ii) across West Sussex.

Yvette Cooper: In June 2007, we published the Housing Green Paper: Homes for the future: more affordable, more sustainable in which I announced 8 billion for affordable housing during the comprehensive spending review period. This represents a 38 per cent. increase on current spending. The funding will enable us to deliver 70,000 more affordable homes by 2010. We are also committed to providing 45,000 new affordable homes for rent by 2010-11 (a 50 per cent. increase) and 25,000 shared ownership and shared equity homes a year funded by the Housing Corporation. In addition, we will look to support additional shared ownership homes through public sector land and local housing companies.
	Since April 2006, key workers have priority access to all of the Government's low cost home ownership products. Regional Housing Assemblies can focus resources where local need is greatest for example by prioritising key worker groups for assistance. We are currently waiting for the Regional Housing Board's recommendations on how investment should be spent over the next three years in the south east.

Housing: Low Incomes

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the number of key workers living in East Worthing and Shoreham;
	(2)  how many key workers were housed through the Key Worker Living Scheme in East Worthing and Shoreham in each year since the scheme's inception, broken down by key worker profession;
	(3)  how many key workers were provided with  (a) Open Market HomeBuy,  (b) New Build HomeBuy and  (c) an intermediate rental through the Key Worker Living Scheme in East Worthing and Shoreham in each year since its inception;
	(4)  how many key workers in East Worthing and Shoreham are awaiting support via the Key Worker Living Scheme; and how many of those on waiting lists are listed for (a) Open Market HomeBuy,  (b) New Build HomeBuy and  (c) intermediate rental.

Yvette Cooper: Information at constituency level is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Housing: Low Incomes

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the impact on public sector recruitment and retention of the Key Worker Living Scheme in  (a) East Worthing and Shoreham and  (b) West Sussex; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: DCLG commissioned an independent evaluation of the Key Worker Living (KWL) Scheme which was published in September 2006. The evaluation was undertaken by GHK Consulting and the Centre for Urban and Regional studies at the University of Birmingham.
	The study found that the KWL scheme is making a positive contribution towards improving recruitment and retention of key workers.
	It is for individual Departments and the regional assemblies to assess the impact on public sector recruitment and retention in specific regions.

Housing: Low Incomes

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what percentage of the funding available for key worker housing was given to the provision of housing in  (a) East Worthing and Shoreham and  (b) West Sussex in each year since 2004; and what percentage of this funding was provided for (i) Open Market HomeBuy, (ii) New Build HomeBuy and (iii) intermediate rental;
	(2)  what percentage of funding available for key worker housing in  (a) East Worthing and Shoreham and  (b) West Sussex was provided for (i) open market solutions and (ii) new build schemes.

Yvette Cooper: Funding allocations for the Key Worker Living programme were set in 2004 for the period 2004-05 to 2005-06. Of the funding available for key worker housing in the south east, 11 per cent. was given to the provision of housing in the county of West Sussex.
	The following table shows the percentage of funding available for key worker housing that was allocated in the county of West Sussex (which includes the local authorities of Worthing and Adur) for (i) Open Market HomeBuy, (ii) New Build HomeBuy and (iii) intermediate rental.
	
		
			  2004-06 
			   Percentage 
			 New Build 19 
			 Intermediate Rent 2 
			 Open Market HomeBuy(1) 80 
			 (1) 2004-06 Open Market HomeBuy includes Kent, East and West Sussex as part of the HomeBuy zone 
		
	
	Since April 2006, the Government no longer allocate funds for schemes specifically designated for key workers. Key workers now have priority access to all of the Government's low-cost home ownership products.

Housing: Low Incomes

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how the work of HomeBuy agents is tracked and monitored.

Yvette Cooper: HomeBuy Agents provide a one- stop-shop service for assessing eligibility and marketing low-cost home ownership schemes. HomeBuy agents are required to provide the Housing Corporation with a monthly self-assessment of compliance against Key Performance Standards, which are monitored by the Housing Corporation.

Housing: Low Incomes

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the potential impact on vulnerable people of the changes to private sector housing renewal funding in the south west; what effect this is likely to have on the decent homes standard; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: No final decisions have been made on funding for private sector housing renewal in the south west. We are currently considering advice from the regional assemblies on funding priorities for their areas. Through the Comprehensive Spending Review 789 million has been made available in the south west through the regional housing pot over the next three years to fund housing capital programmes including those for private sector renewal. The region's allocation for the period ending 2010-11 is 50 per cent. higher than that for 2007-08. We remain committed to making funding available for private sector decent homes and in seeking the regional assemblies' priorities for funding we have asked them to continue to prioritise those most in need.

Housing: Publications

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the National Audit Office's Housing Market Renewal report; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 20 November 2007
	 We note the main conclusions in the NAO report, that across the programme the pathfinders have been narrowing the gaps in house prices and vacancies with their regions, and that the pathfinder local authorities have been performing better than other local authorities with less severe problems of low demand not selected for the programme.

Housing: Standards

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities do not have a strategy for meeting the decent homes standard.

Iain Wright: All local authorities with the exception of Camden council, have a signed off options appraisal for their stock. Camden are currently working on their strategy for delivery.
	The following local authorities are currently revisiting their options appraisal: Castle Point, Brighton and Hove, Crawley, Croydon, Ellesmere Port and Neston, Mid Devon, NW Leicestershire, Plymouth, Stroud, Tamworth, Waveney and Wycombe.

Housing: Standards

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of homes that  (a) did and  (b) did not reach the decent homes standard at the most recent date for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: Our latest estimates for all homes in England is that 5,987,000 (27.5 per cent.) are non- decent and 15,795,000 (72.5 per cent.) are decent. These figures are for 2005 and are derived from the English House Condition Survey and were published on 6 June 2007.
	In 1997 there were approximately 8,700,000 non- decent homes (42 per cent.) and 12,014,000 decent homes (58 per cent.).

Local Authorities: Crime Prevention

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what powers are available to local authorities to compel landowners to take steps to secure their land in order to prevent it from being used for antisocial and criminal purposes.

Iain Wright: We do not know of any specific powers that could be used by local authorities to compel landowners to take steps to secure their land in order to prevent it from being used for antisocial and criminal purposes. However, there may be practical advice that local authorities can give to landowners whose land is at risk of being used for such activities. In addition, local authorities have powers under section 222 of the Local Government Act 1972 to bring legal proceedings on behalf of local communities. Authorities may wish to seek advice from their lawyers as to whether there is any right of action in relation to unsecured land. It should be noted that proceedings under section 222 can be used to take out injunctions against antisocial behaviour and where an injunction is granted, the court may, under section 91 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, attach a power of arrest to such injunctions.

Members: Correspondence

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects the Parliamentary Under-Secretary, the hon. Member for Hartlepool, to reply to the letters of 29 August 2007 and 22 October 2007 from the hon. Member for North Durham.

Iain Wright: I have now replied to my hon. Friend's correspondence.

Public Lavatories

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when her Department expects to publish  (a) the research on public toilet provision undertaken by the Government with the British Toilet Association and  (b) a strategy for increasing public toilet provision; and if she will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: We expect to publish a Strategic Guide on Public Access to Toilets early in the new year.

Regeneration: West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government have taken to promote regeneration in the West Midlands since 1997.

Parmjit Dhanda: Considerable central Government regeneration funds have been made available to the West Midlands since 1997in total some 850 million. The main components are:
	
		
			million 
			 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund 2003-08 306.54 
			 Neighbourhood Element 2006-10 12.23 
			 Cleaner Safer Greener Fund 2006-08 6.3 
			 Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder 2004-10 7.2 
			 New Deal for Communities (10-year programme to 2010) 319.5 
			 Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder (set to 2008) 200.00 
		
	
	Since Advantage West Midlands was established in 1999 it has between 1999-2000 and 2006-07 spent over 1.6 billion in connection with economic regeneration activity in the region. Advantage West Midlands' budget allocation for 2007-09 is around 296 million.

Sleeping Rough

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what her Department's latest estimate is of the number of people sleeping rough who are from a black or minority ethnic community;
	(2)  what her Department's latest estimate is of the number of people sleeping rough who have been in prison;
	(3)  what her Department's latest estimate is of the number of people sleeping rough who have been in the armed forces;
	(4)  what her Department's latest estimate is of the number of people sleeping rough who have a  (a) mental illness and  (b) addiction.

Iain Wright: There has been major progress in tackling the worst form of homelessness, that of people sleeping on the streets. Since 1998 we have reduced rough sleeping by 73 per cent. Partnership working between central and local government, the voluntary sector and other organisations working with homeless people has been the key to the successful reduction in rough sleeping. The focus has been on providing support and accommodation for those on the street to help them rebuild their lives and move back to independent living as well as on homelessness prevention to stop people arriving on the streets in the first place.
	We publish an annual estimate of rough sleepers based on street counts, which does not include information on ethnicity, previous spells in prison or the armed forces or mental illness or addiction.
	There is specific information for London provided under the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) recording system. In 2006-07, for those rough sleepers in London contacted by services, CHAIN information is as follows:
	18 per cent. of rough sleepers were from a black or minority ethnic community;
	39 per cent. of rough sleepers had spent time in prison in the past;
	5 per cent. of rough sleepers had spent some time in the armed forces in the past;
	48 per cent. of rough sleepers have an alcohol need;
	41 per cent. have a drug support need; and
	35 per cent. have a mental health need.

Tees Valley Multi-Area Agreement

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effects of the Tees Valley Multi-Area Agreement; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: The Tees Valley is one of 13 sub-regions with whom Government will be working on the development of a Multi-Area Agreement with a view to signing a final agreement by June 2008. The overall objective of MAAs is to facilitate the delivery of improved economic prosperity. As the Tees Valley MAA has not yet been signed, we have made no assessment of effects.

Thames Gateway: London Communications Agency

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how much Thames Gateway has paid to the London Communications Agency in fees to date; and how much it expects to pay (i) in the current financial year and (ii) over the remainder of the contracted period; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  if she will place in the Library  (a) a summary of Thames Gateway's contract with the London Communications Agency, with particular reference to (i) the range of functions it covers, (ii) the frequency with which work is to be provided and (iii) the staffing commitment and  (b) examples of the Agency's work for Thames Gateway produced during the last 12 months.

Yvette Cooper: The Thames Gateway Executive does not have a contract with the London Communications Agency and currently has no plans to enter into one. No fee payments have therefore been made. It is open to the individual local regeneration partnerships and other organisations in the Thames Gateway to employ communication agencies directly.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Actis

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has been paid for investments made by Actis since it was part-privatised in 2002.

Shahid Malik: DFID has not been paid for investments made by Actis. Net proceeds from assets that are realised by Actis are returned to CDC for reinvestment in private companies in poorer countries.

Actis

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the value is of his Department's investment in Actis.

Shahid Malik: The value of DFID's investment in Actis in DFID's resource accounts is 1.677 million.

Actis

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he has issued guidance to Actis on ethical criteria for its investment funds.

Shahid Malik: Responsible investment principles were set and agreed with DFID when Actis was established. These are monitored and controlled by a Business Principles Committee made up of non-executive directors. Full information on Actis' Environmental, Social and Governance Framework is available on the company's website at http://act.is/profile/responsible_investment.asp

Actis

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's profit share arrangement with Actis is; what dividend payments have been received under that arrangement; and what profit share arrangements are proposed after 2009.

Shahid Malik: The minority 40 per cent. interest entitles the Department to an 80 per cent. share of Actis profits until 2013. Thereafter the Department will be entitled to 40 per cent. of profits in line with its percentage interest. To date, no dividend payments have been made under this arrangement.

Actis: Pay

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will publish the salary, bonus and fee packages of each director and senior management team member of Actis.

Shahid Malik: The Remuneration Committee of the Actis Supervisory Board is responsible for determining the firm's policy on remuneration. Total remuneration (salaries and bonus payment) for the working members of Actis is detailed in the Report of the Members and Consolidated Financial Statements published with Companies House.

Afghanistan: Overseas Aid

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether any  (a) UK and  (b) UN reports have been completed on international aid wastage rates in Afghanistan and instances of corruption in the disbursement of aid.

Shahid Malik: According to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 75 per cent. of aid to Afghanistan is spent outside government systems. This leads to a large degree of aid wastage and inefficiency.
	The Peace Dividend Trust, in a study recently funded by DFID, found that aid spent through government systems was four times more effective than funds spent through international companies or NGOs. This is one of the reasons why DFID currently puts over 80 per cent. of its bilateral aid programme through government systems. We are unaware of any specific UN reports on international aid wastage rates in Afghanistan.
	There have been no reports undertaken by the UK or the UN into instances of corruption in the disbursement of aid.

Afghanistan: Reconstruction

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what reports and studies have been conducted by his Department on UK-funded reconstruction initiatives in Afghanistan.

Shahid Malik: DFID recently funded a study by the Peace Dividend Trust entitled 'Afghanistan Compact Procurement Monitoring Project', the purpose of which was to measure the impact of international assistance to Afghanistan. It found that aid spent through the Government of Afghanistan's systems was four times more effective than funds spent through international companies or NGOs. This is one of the reasons why DFID currently puts over 80 per cent. of its bilateral aid programme through government systems.
	In 2005, DFID commissioned King's College London to undertake a review of its support to Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs). The purpose of the review was to make recommendations on future engagement with PRTs. The review recommended the deployment of three Development Advisers to PRTs focussing on Helmand as a priority and the existing programme was reconfigured to better articulate DFID's approach to stabilisation.
	DFID also provides funding to the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU), an independent research institution that conducts and facilitates research to improve practice and increase the impact of humanitarian and development programmes in Afghanistan. DFID uses research findings to inform policy.

Departmental Food

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of  (a) beef,  (b) lamb,  (c) pork and  (d) dairy products used in his departmental headquarters were imported products in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Shahid Malik: I refer the hon. Member to the data published in the report deposited in the House of Commons' Library on 8 November 2007 that give the proportion of UK produce supplied to Government Departments, the NHS and HM Prison Service. A copy of the report is also available online at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/policy/sustain/procurement/pdf/govt-food-usage.pdf

Departmental Property

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much has been spent by his Department on renovation and refurbishment of its properties in each of the last five years.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development has spent the following amounts on renovation and refurbishments of its UK offices. Much of the expenditure is attributable to a major refurbishment of our East Kilbride office during the earlier years.
	
		
			
			 2002-03 4,122,660 
			 2003-04 8,954,590 
			 2004-05 4,774,460 
			 2005-06 982,250 
			 2006-07 43,574

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on staff working on  (a) marketing and  (b) branding in the last 12-month period for which figures are available.

Shahid Malik: The last 12-month period for which figures are available is October 2006 to October 2007. Between October 2006 and April 2007 the Publicity and Marketing Unit was part of the Building Support for Development team. Figures for this period cannot be disaggregated.
	Between April 2007 and October 2007 staff costs for the campaigns and marketing team were 218,756, which includes costs for overtime, travelling time and pension and national insurance contributions.

Developing Countries: Abortion

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his policy is on the provision of safe abortions in developing countries; and if he will make a statement.

Shahid Malik: DFID recognises that unsafe abortion is a major cause of maternal death and ill-health and believes that no woman should die or suffer as a result of unsafe abortion. A woman should have access to services and care that are safe, humane, accessible and respectful of her decision. She should also be able to access services for safely and effectively managing the complications arising from induced or spontaneous abortion. Lowering abortion-related maternal deaths is a key way to reduce maternal mortality (Millennium Development Goal 5) given that nearly all deaths from unsafe abortion are preventable.
	DFID agrees that abortion should never be promoted as a means of family planning in line with the consensus agreed at the International Conference for Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994. Women and men should be able to access and choose good quality contraceptives to prevent unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

Developing Countries: Common Sugar Regime

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which countries he expects to receive EU funding following the completion of national sugar action plans, as referred to in the answer of 8 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 8-9W, on ACP and developing countries: common sugar regime.

Gareth Thomas: The Sugar Protocol was signed between the European Union and 18 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries: Barbados, Belize, Republic of Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Fiji, Guyana, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, St. Kitts and Nevis, Swaziland, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
	According to the European Commission all 18 countries will benefit from the transitional assistance for sugar, although the amount allocated to each country will vary. The amount allocated to each country is based on two criteria: the impact of the sugar reform on the sugar sector of the country concerned and the importance of the sugar sector to the economy. The countries were required to draw up a national sugar adaptation strategy to show how they will spend their allocation.

Developing Countries: Common Sugar Regime

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the likely decline in value of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, as referred to in the answer of 8 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 8-9W, on ACP and developing countries: common sugar regime preferences.

Gareth Thomas: DFID has commissioned a number of independent studies looking at the impact of the reform of the European Union (EU) sugar market on the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries that export sugar to the EU. The studies show that the impact of the sugar reform will not fall uniformly on the sugar protocol countries. Some countries will benefit with the opportunity to increase the volume of their sugar export to the EU market under the duty free and quota free market access offer. In other countries sugar may not continue to be an economic industry. Indeed some ACP countries have already taken that decision and are withdrawing from sugar production. We have always been clear that such countries will require transitional assistance. It is not possible to estimate the size of the impact on the individual ACP countries. This will depend on other decisions that they make in response to the reform.

Developing Countries: Common Sugar Regime

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) nations have received technical and financial support from his Department to assist in drawing up their individual sugar action plans as referred to in the answer of 8 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 8-9W, on ACP and developing countries: common sugar regime.

Gareth Thomas: DFID provided financial support totalling 200,000 for six Caribbean countries: Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts and Nevis and Jamaica to draw up their national sugar action plans.

Iraq: Politics and Government

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Iraq.

Shahid Malik: DFID is very concerned about the humanitarian situation in Iraq and among refugees in the wider region. Many Iraqis are denied adequate protection and access to basic services. There is a lack of reliable information about the situation. However, the UN estimates that over two million people are internally displaced, with a further two million displaced across the region, 80 per cent. of whom are in Syria and Jordan. UNHCR is investigating reports of increased refugee returns from Syria, and the reasons behind such returns. We await the outcome of this work.
	DFID is supporting the delivery of emergency relief and protection through contributions to internationally mandated humanitarian agencies. We have recently allocated an additional 5 million to these efforts, bringing our overall humanitarian commitment for Iraq to over 130 million since 2003 and 15 million this year.

Opinion Leader Research

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many contracts were awarded by his Department to Opinion Leader Research in each year since 1997; and what was  (a) the title and purpose,  (b) the cost to the public purse and  (c) the dates of (i) tender, (ii) award, (iii) operation and (iv) completion and its report to the Department in each case.

Shahid Malik: In 1998, DFID commissioned Opinion Leader Research (OLR) to undertake baseline focus group research among the UK public at a cost of 43,000. In 2002, we funded a project with OLR and the BBC, which involved use of focus groups in the UK to analyse public understanding of international news stories at a cost of 38,247. In 2003, DFID commissioned OLR to undertake further focus group research to explore ways of increasing understanding and support for international development in the UK at a cost of 50,309.
	No subsequent contracts were awarded to OLR. Specific dates when contracts were tendered, let, carried out and completed are not held centrally, and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

Poverty: EU Action

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the likely effect of proposed EU Economic Partnership Agreements on the Government's targets to reduce global poverty.

Gareth Thomas: Growth is important for poverty reduction. Economic Partnership Agreements can deliver growth and development and help countries trade their way out of poverty. In recent years, many of the fastest growing countries, in east Asia particularly, have opened up their borders to international trade. EPAs can increase access for developing country exports into European Union (EU) markets, which is one of their largest export markets. EPAs should also increase trading opportunities and collaboration with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) regions themselves and promote integration into the global economy.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Adult Education

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many adults  (a) enrolled in adult and community learning programmes and  (b) participated in further education in each (i) borough and (ii) region in each year since 1997.

David Lammy: Figures for adults (aged 19 and above) participating in further education (FE) and adult and community learning (ACL) programmes can be derived from the Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) Individualised Learner Record (ILR). The FE ILR was collated for the first time in 2002-03 and figures are given from that time. Regional and local authority breakdowns for learners on ACL programmes could be provided only at disproportionate cost and are therefore not included.
	
		
			  Adult learner numbers in further education by region1 and local authority( 1) 
			  Thousand 
			   2002/03  2003/04  2004/05  2005/06 
			  Region 
			 North East 224.2 226.5 239.8 185.8 
			 North West 474.8 459.9 461.7 373.2 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 354.6 363.9 376.3 305.5 
			 East Midlands 342.8 349.6 346.3 277.7 
			 West Midlands 442.0 417.5 416.6 366.2 
			 East 306.3 303.3 302.3 240.3 
			 London 468.9 463.2 474.6 419.1 
			 South East 454.8 449.8 431.2 344.5 
			 South West 378.1 366.5 366.0 310.9 
			  
			  Local authority 
			 City of London 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.4 
			 Camden 13.9 13.6 13.2 12.0 
			 Greenwich 14.8 11.9 12.1 10.7 
			 Hackney 16.1 15.9 17.1 15.0 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 9.5 9.6 10.3 8.9 
			 Islington 14.5 14.4 14.2 12.3 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 8.1 8.1 8.4 7.2 
			 Lambeth 22.5 21.8 22.4 20.2 
			 Lewisham 18.4 17.5 17.6 15.7 
			 Southwark 18.8 19.5 19.9 18.2 
			 Tower Hamlets 13.2 13.4 14.5 12.7 
			 Wandsworth 14.5 14.9 15.1 12.8 
			 Westminster 12.6 12.9 12.7 11.5 
			 Barking and Dagenham 9.8 10.4 11.0 9.9 
			 Barnet 22.0 20.9 24.0 22.1 
			 Bexley 11.1 10.4 10.2 8.1 
			 Brent 19.8 19.9 20.5 18.9 
			 Bromley 16.0 16.1 15.5 14.0 
			 Croydon 20.9 20.7 20.1 17.1 
			 Ealing 17.3 17.6 18.5 17.1 
			 Enfield 17.5 17.5 19.0 15.3 
			 Haringey 19.2 18.9 20.2 18.0 
			 Harrow 12.0 11.3 10.8 9.6 
			 Havering 13.8 13.8 12.7 11.3 
			 Hillingdon 10.4 10.1 10.3 9.0 
			 Hounslow 13.1 13.4 13.0 11.3 
			 Kingston upon Thames 7.0 6.9 7.0 6.1 
			 Merton 9.2 9.5 9.5 8.9 
			 Newham 21.2 21.0 21.8 21.1 
			 Redbridge 13.3 13.6 14.2 12.0 
			 Richmond upon Thames 10.9 10.9 10.3 7.9 
			 Sutton 9.3 9.6 9.6 8.6 
			 Waltham Forest 17.8 16.9 18.4 15.2 
			 Birmingham 98.9 88.1 91.6 85.1 
			 Coventry 24.2 24.5 24.9 22.2 
			 Dudley 26.6 24.3 24.7 22.8 
			 Sandwell 25.4 23.4 24.3 22.4 
			 Solihull 15.4 13.9 13.8 11.2 
			 Walsall 19.7 19.4 18.0 15.4 
			 Wolverhampton 21.1 21.2 21.0 19.4 
			 Knowsley 12.7 12.9 12.4 9.6 
			 Liverpool 34.0 35.1 33.4 25.9 
			 St. Helens 12.6 13.3 11.9 9.5 
			 Sefton 22.9 23.6 21.1 16.2 
			 Wirral 20.7 21.5 20.5 16.3 
			 Bolton 17.3 15.7 14.4 10.9 
			 Bury 12.9 12.6 12.4 10.1 
			 Manchester 36.7 32.4 38.8 36.2 
			 Oldham 15.0 14.5 14.6 11.2 
			 Rochdale 13.1 12.9 12.9 11.7 
			 Salford 14.9 15.5 16.5 12.5 
			 Stockport 18.7 16.5 18.0 13.8 
			 Tameside 15.7 14.7 14.6 11.2 
			 Trafford 15.5 14.5 15.4 12.0 
			 Wigan 19.7 18.3 17.2 13.8 
			 Barnsley 15.9 16.0 16.3 14.3 
			 Doncaster 22.1 23.2 25.5 19.7 
			 Rotherham 18.9 18.7 18.9 15.7 
			 Sheffield 33.9 36.1 42.2 35.1 
			 Bradford 35.5 36.1 38.5 33.7 
			 Calderdale 13,1 12.9 13.6 10.3 
			 Kirklees 24.7 23.8 25.5 20.2 
			 Leeds 46.1 49.1 47.8 42.0 
			 Wakefield 20.2 22.1 22.3 18.1 
			 Gateshead 20.3 20.3 20.0 14.2 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 26.1 25.7 28.7 23.5 
			 North Tyneside 17.6 16.7 18.1 14.9 
			 South Tyneside 14.5 15.0 15.5 12.5 
			 Sunderland 26.3 24.1 24.3 17.1 
			 Isles of Scilly 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 11.4 10.5 10.5 9.1 
			 Bristol 32.1 30.6 33.5 34.0 
			 North Somerset 15.8 14.1 14.9 14.3 
			 South Gloucestershire 16.3 16.3 14.7 13.7 
			 Hartlepool 7.6 7.7 7.9 6.9 
			 Middlesbrough 11.6 12.6 13.2 10.3 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 11.7 11.8 12.1 9.8 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 16.1 15.2 15.5 13.2 
			 Kingston upon Hull 22.9 23.0 24.6 19.5 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 25.8 25.3 24.6 18.3 
			 North East Lincolnshire 15.5 16.2 15.5 11.9 
			 North Lincolnshire 13.4 14.4 12.9 9.2 
			 North Yorkshire 36.8 37.0 37.8 29.3 
			 York 9.9 9.9 10.3 8.1 
			 Bedfordshire 26.7 26.4 26.6 21.6 
			 Luton 15.8 16.2 17.1 14.1 
			 Buckinghamshire 24.0 23.3 22.6 18.0 
			 Milton Keynes 13.9 14.2 14.8 12.0 
			 Derbyshire 64.8 61.8 62.8 54.1 
			 Derby 21.2 21.9 22.2 20.5 
			 Dorset 29.1 27.9 26.1 20.5 
			 Poole 9.2 8.3 10.2 8.0 
			 Bournemouth 11.8 12.2 13.3 11.0 
			 Durham 44.0 42.7 46.6 34.7 
			 Darlington 7.3 7.4 8.2 5.5 
			 East Sussex 29.8 27.2 25.0 21.0 
			 Brighton and Hove 18.3 16.9 16.8 14.6 
			 Hampshire 87.8 92.6 79.1 60.8 
			 Portsmouth 14.4 15.5 13.4 10.8 
			 Southampton 12.3 13.6 13.0 11.2 
			 Leicestershire 48.4 47.2 47.0 36.9 
			 Leicester 29.0 30.0 30.3 26.3 
			 Rutland 2.6 2.7 2.5 1.7 
			 Staffordshire 60.2 57.3 57.5 49.1 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 19.3 19.2 19.1 16.0 
			 Wiltshire 28.4 29.6 29.7 22.3 
			 Swindon 11.5 10.5 11.5 10.8 
			 Bracknell Forest 5.1 4.4 4.7 4.0 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 6.3 6.0 6.2 5.1 
			 West Berkshire 7.8 7.0 6.8 6.0 
			 Reading 7.3 7.3 8.0 7.7 
			 Slough 5.9 5.5 6.1 5.9 
			 Wokingham 7.3 6.1 5.8 5.1 
			 Cambridgeshire 33.5 33.4 34.8 26.0 
			 Peterborough 10.4 11.2 12.1 9.1 
			 Cheshire 38.9 38.0 38.9 33.9 
			 Halton 7.7 7.4 7.4 6.5 
			 Warrington 12.2 12.4 12.5 11.0 
			 Devon 48.9 48.8 47.4 35.4 
			 Plymouth 23.3 20.9 20.2 18.3 
			 Torbay 7.8 8.7 8.4 6.2 
			 Essex 69.3 67.2 64.0 51.8 
			 Southend on Sea 8.2 8.2 7.7 7.0 
			 Thurrock 6.6 6.7 6.7 5.3 
			 Herefordshire 12.0 12.4 10.1 8.2 
			 Worcestershire 43.4 40.4 38.5 37.5 
			 Kent 74.7 68.2 72.9 56.9 
			 Medway 13.1 11.6 11.8 8.6 
			 Lancashire 81.6 79.0 76.8 60.1 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 10.7 9.8 9.7 9.3 
			 Blackpool 10.6 10.3 10.0 7.0 
			 Nottinghamshire 65.2 68.3 65.7 49.3 
			 Nottingham 25.9 27.9 27.5 22.5 
			 Shropshire 21.7 21.4 21.4 16.1 
			 Telford and Wrekin 13.4 13.8 14.7 10.3 
			 Cornwall 55.4 55.1 55.8 46.8 
			 Cumbria 30.8 29.2 32.2 24.5 
			 (1) Regional and local authority breakdowns are based on learner home postcode prior to enrolment.  Source: LSC ILR

Adult Education: Oxfordshire

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many adult learner accounts have been taken up in Oxfordshire since September.

David Lammy: As of 22 November 2007 a total of 791 adult learner accounts had been opened by learners in the trial LSC areas of the South East and East Midlands: 38 of these were opened by individuals in Oxfordshire.
	As outlined in World Class Skills: Implementing the Leitch Review of Skills in England (July 07), the evaluation of these trials will inform the development of Skills Accounts to give adult learners greater choice, purchasing power and control over their learning, and to drive forward the implementation of demand-led funding within further education.

Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many officials from his Department, broken down by grade, attended the cross-government working group on anti-Semitism on 15 November; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: I understand that you have already received a reply from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government on this question as the lead on cohesion matters. That reply sets out that the cross-government working group did not meet on the 15, but the meeting that took place was between the Parliamentary Under Secretary, his officials and representatives from key Jewish organizations. My officials did not participate in that meeting.
	I can assure you that my Department deplores any acts of racial or religious intolerance in higher education. We are committed to tackling any form of anti-Semitism and racial intolerance in general. Although higher education institutions have primary responsibility for ensuring equal opportunities and for abiding by legislation in this area, the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills is committed to encouraging the higher education sector to ensure that discrimination has no place in any of its policies or practices.

Apprentices: Advisory Services

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills who will be responsible for providing information on apprenticeships for those aged over 25 years to  (a) employers and  (b) job seekers.

David Lammy: Free impartial advice is available for employers, employees and job seekers through the learndirect and next step services, operated by the Learning and Skills Council. In addition, Train to Gain skills brokers provide specialised support to business on their skill needs, including apprenticeships.
	In World Class Skills (Cmnd 7181), published in July, we announced the creation of a new universal adult careers service. The unified service will work closely with Job Centre Plus. It will provide free access to every adult in England to a wide range of information, including apprenticeships, and will be fully operational from 2010-11.

Apprentices: Lancashire

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many new apprenticeships were created in  (a) Ribble Valley and  (b) Lancashire in each of the last three years.

David Lammy: Figures for those participating in apprenticeships can be derived from the Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) individualised Learner Record (ILR). The table shows the cumulative number of apprenticeship starts from August-July in each year in Lancashire local LSC area. (These figures are not readily available at parliamentary constituency level).
	
		
			  Thousand 
			   Advanced apprenticeships  Apprenticeships 
			 2004/05 1.6 4.1 
			 2005/06 1.4 3.2 
			 2006/07 1.9 3.9

Apprentices: Oxfordshire

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  how many modern apprenticeships he expects to be started in the  (a) Oxford and  (b) Banbury travel to work area in each of the next three years;
	(2)  how many of the new 281,000 apprenticeships for 16 to 18-year-olds he expects to be made available in Oxfordshire.

David Lammy: Our apprenticeship data models do not have the level of detail for local areas so we are unable to answer these questions.

Assessments: Per Capita Costs

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the average net marginal cost was of a student taking  (a) a GCSE in English literature,  (b) a GCSE in English language,  (c) a GCSE in mathematics,  (d) an A-level in English literature,  (e) an A-level in English language and  (f) an A-level in mathematics at a further education college in the latest period for which figures are available.

Bill Rammell: We do not hold information on the net marginal cost of providing courses to learners in further education colleges. Colleges may identify this cost in their internal financial records but there is no requirement on them to share it with the Department or with the Learning and Skills Council.
	The Learning and Skills Council funds all colleges on the basis of a national funding formula which includes base funding rates for all qualifications. The base funding rates the Learning and Skills Council will offer to further education colleges in respect of each learner undertaking the courses identified in this question in 2007-08 are:
	
		
			   
			   Funding rate for each 16-18 year old learner in 2007-08  Funding rate for each 19+ year old learner in 2007-08 
			 GCSE English Literature/Language/Mathematics 622 (1)610 
			 A level English Literature/Language/Mathematics 862 (1)845 
			 (1)Colleges receive this full funding rate for 19+ year old learners eligible for full fee remission in 2007-08. Where 19+ year old learners are not eligible for full fee remission the rate offered by the Learning and Skills Council is reduced and the college will ask the learner to contribute a proportion of the course fee.

Burgess Report

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department has spent in implementing recommendations of the Burgess report since its publication.

Bill Rammell: The Department has not spent any money on implementing Burgess recommendations.
	The Burgess Group's final report on proposals for national credit arrangements was published in December 2006 and the Group's final report on measuring and recording student achievement was published in October 2007. The Burgess Group was an HE sector group and the recommendations are for implementation by the HE sector. Work on the credit recommendations is being taken forward by a sector-led Credit Issues Development Group. Universities UK and Guild HE are currently considering their response to the report on measuring and recording student achievement.
	On recording achievement, I welcome the proposal to develop a Higher Education Achievement Report, to help present a more complete picture of a graduate's skills and knowledge than is captured solely in the overall degree classification. However, I believe progress can best be made by building on the current system, and certainly not by replacing degree classifications. The HE sector will need to consider carefully the best way to provide the additional information, while maintaining stability in the system.

Chemistry: Graduates

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people graduated with chemistry degrees in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2007.

Bill Rammell: The latest available information is shown in the table. Figures for 2006/07 will be available in January 2008.
	The latest figures published by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) show that the number of students who have been accepted for entry to full-time undergraduate courses in chemistry in autumn 2007 is up by nearly 9 per cent. compared to 2006, and is up by nearly 13 per cent. compared to 2005.
	
		
			  First degrees obtained in chemistry, English higher education institutions, academic year 2004/05 to 2005/06 
			  Academic year  Number 
			 2004/05 2,260 
			 2005/06 2,110 
			  Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

Departmental Catering

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what percentage of  (a) beef,  (b) lamb,  (c) pork and  (d) dairy products used in his departmental headquarters were imported products in the most recent period for which figures are available.

David Lammy: For the period 1 January to 30 June 2007 the percentage of imported beef, sheep meat, pork and dairy products used within DIUS headquarters buildings was 84 per cent. of beef, 93 per cent. of lamb, 76 per cent. of pork and 7 per cent. of dairy products.

Departmental Manpower

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many civil servants in his Department and its predecessors  (a) transferred to other Government Departments and  (b) left the Civil Service in each of the last five years.

David Lammy: The Department was formed in the Machinery of Government changes announced on 28 June 2007. Its formation involved the headcount transfer of 536 staff from the former Department for Education and Skills and 243 from the Department of Trade and Industry (total 779 staff). There have been no significant numbers of staff movements or departures since that date. The latest staffing figure for my Department is a headcount total of 761 staff or full-time equivalent of 727.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisors

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether any of his Department's special advisers have declared a conflict of interest; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether any of his Department's special advisers have declared a conflict of interest.

David Lammy: Special advisers are appointed under terms and conditions set out in the Model Contract for Special Advisers. Copies of the Model Contract are available in the House Libraries.

Departmental Public Participation

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the likely cost of student policy juries in 2007-08.

Bill Rammell: In October, John Denham announced an ambitious listening programme which will put the voices of England's 2.3 million university students at the heart of Government. This new approach will ensure students are able to make their views and ideas heard through a range of mechanisms with Ministers responding to specific issues raised.
	The student juries being run between now and Christmas are one element of the student listening programme. Costs for the five student juries, to be held in November and December 2007, have been budgeted at 20,000 in total (excluding VAT). We will also pay participants' reasonable expenses.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many full-time equivalent staff are responsible for brand management and marketing in his Department and its agencies.

David Lammy: DIUS currently employs a team of 7.2 FTE staff who are responsible for marketing and brand management. The team is responsible for marketing campaigns through the paid-for mediaTV, press, radiosuch as the current Student Finance Campaignas well as delivery of DIUS information through key channels publications and the corporate website. The team ensures that appropriate branding is visible on all DIUS communications.
	 National Weights and Measures Laboratory
	National Weights and Measures Laboratory employs 0.4 FTE staff responsible for brand management and marketing.
	 Intellectual Property Office
	The only marketing undertaken in the UK-IPO is in relation to commercial services where 1.6 staff are currently engaged. Brand management is a very small part of the activityless than 0.2 FTE.
	For a limited time, one person from IPO was recently seconded to support the branding of a newly formed DIUS. This secondment will cease at the end of this year.

Departmental Questions

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what percentage of questions tabled for answer on a named day to his Department received a substantive answer on the day due in the last year for which figures are available.

David Lammy: The Department's PQ tracking system is currently unable to break down the data requested and to do so would incur disproportionate cost. This Department aims to ensure that Members receive a substantive response to their named day question on the named day, and endeavours to answer ordinary written questions within a working week of being tabled. Unfortunately, this is not always possible, but this Department makes every effort to achieve these time scales.

Educational Institutions: Registration

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many colleges and other educational establishments were  (a) investigated and  (b) subsequently removed from the Government Register of Educational Providers in relation to immigration-related considerations in the latest period for which figures are available.

Bill Rammell: The Register of Education and Training Providers was established on 1 January 2005. Since that date, all colleges which want to recruit international students need to appear on the Register. The Home Office will not grant anyone leave to enter or remain in the UK unless he or she is studying at a provider on the Register. The operation of the Register therefore directly helps the Home Office tackle immigration abuse in the education sector.
	Since 1 January 2005, 256 colleges on the Register of Education and Training Providers have been investigated by the Borders and Immigration Agency. Of these, 114 have been found to be in breach of the Immigration Rules, and therefore removed from the Register.

General Elections

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what contingency preparations his Department made for the possibility of a general election in autumn 2007; and what the costs were of those preparations.

David Lammy: Officials keep under review, and update, the stock of corporate briefing. No additional briefing was prepared in respect of any prospect of a general election in the autumn. We have not been able to identify any costs incurred in relation to any preparations and do not believe that any were incurred.

Graduates: Debt

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Reading, East of 3 September 2007,  Official Report, column 1756W, on graduates: debt, 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect of course choice on the average amount of time needed by  (a) male and  (b) female students in higher education to repay debts incurred during study;
	(2)  what assumptions about  (a) the gender pay gap,  (b) fertility,  (c) nuptuality,  (d) real earnings growth and  (e) graduate income premium he made in estimating the average amount of time needed by graduates to repay debts incurred during study by (i) men and (ii) women.

Bill Rammell: We estimate that a male student who entered higher education in 2006/07 will take an average of 11 years to repay their student loan. We estimate that this will be 16 years for a female. These periods are counted from the statutory repayment due date, which is the April following the year of graduation.
	The calculations are based on assumptions about graduate lifetime earnings, derived from the British Household Panel Survey and the Labour Force Survey. The calculations therefore take account of earnings growth due to career progression, gender, age and periods spent unemployed or inactive for other reasons such as having children. Real earnings growth for the graduate population as a whole is assumed to be 1.95pp above inflation.
	Separate analysis of the benefits of higher education estimates that over the working life, the average net graduate earnings premium is comfortably over 100,000 in today's valuation, compared to what a similar individual would have earned if they just had A- levels.

Higher Education: Fees and Charges

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the purpose is of the Intercalating Year Abroad fee; what method is used for calculating the Intercalating Year Abroad fee; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 22 November 2007
	English higher education institutions are permitted, under the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007 No, 176) to charge a tuition fee for a student studying abroad for a year as part of their degree course, of up to half the maximum fee for other home undergraduates. The amount actually charged is a matter for the institution. Students who spend a full academic year abroad on the European Commission's Erasmus scheme have their tuition fees waived for that year. This information applies to England only.

Higher Education: Fees and Charges

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what guidance his Department provides to universities on the nature, level and extent of services to be provided to students as consideration for the Intercalating Year Abroad fees levied.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 22 November 2007
	Higher education institutions are autonomous and it is up to them to determine what services they offer to students during periods spent abroad as part of their course. These will vary according to the course the student is undertaking, and whether or not the student is on a work placement or is attending another university. Higher education institutions participating in the European Commission's Erasmus scheme must have the Erasmus university charter, a document outlining an institution's responsibilities under Erasmus. The British Council, who manage Erasmus in the UK, issue an operational handbook outlining the rules higher education institutions need to abide by.

Higher Education: Romford

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what projections his Department has made of the numbers of students entering higher education in Romford over the next five years.

Bill Rammell: The Government have a target to increase participation in higher education towards 50 per cent. of those aged 18-30 with growth of at least a percentage point every two years to the academic year 2010-11. The Government do not make projections about the number of students entering higher education from specific areas.

Higher Education: Student Numbers

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills when the Government expect to meet their 50 per cent. participation rate target in university education for young people aged 18 to 30 years.

Bill Rammell: Our long-term vision is that the UK should be a world leader on skills, in the upper quartile of OECD rankings by 2020, meeting the recommendations of the Leitch review. Consistent with that vision, we have set a long-term primary target to increase the proportion of the workforce with higher level skills from under 30 per cent. now to over 40 per cent. by 2020 and as a contribution towards that goal, a supporting, target to increase participation in higher education towards 50 per cent. of those aged 18-30 with growth of at least a percentage point every two years to the academic year 2010-11. The precise date on which we reach these targets will depend on the outcome of future spending reviews and on continuing to increase demand for higher education among people of all ages and backgrounds who would benefit from entering higher education. Our policies will therefore continue to increase and widen participation.

Innovation

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether he plans to set up a central innovation unit in his Department.

David Lammy: The Department already has an Innovation Directorate led by Dr. David Evans, Director of Innovation (who the Secretary of State has asked to lead the work in preparing a science and innovation strategy for the Department.)

Older Workers

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment he has made of the types of learning required to help older people remain economically active; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: Older people are a hugely valued part of our society, contributing more and more in later life. Almost 8 million people over 50 work and age legislation means that age need no longer be a barrier to working, training or promotion. Our economic success is increasingly dependent on our older work force being as skilled and as productive as younger workers, but too many older workers do not have the basic literacy, numeracy and work place skills they need to succeed, and too few are engaging in education and training to change that.
	Our strategy for World Class Skills sets bold targets and our reforms include supporting individuals, including older workers, into sustainable employment and progression in work and in skills. We are committed to ensuring equal opportunities for all learners. Our targets cover workers and learners of all ages and our reforms balance skills and economic prosperity with fairness and inclusion. We will give greater ownership and choice to individuals over their training through skills accounts backed up by a new universal adult careers service that will provide free skills health checks for people of any age at key stages in working life.
	We are also working with employers through Train to Gain and the Skills Pledge to meet skill needs and to ensure that all employees including older people have the basic skills, including literacy and numeracy and Level 2 skills (equivalent to five good GCSEs), needed to sustain and progress in employment. We are increasing funding for Train to Gain from 440 million in 2007/08 to over 900 million in 2010/11. We want to encourage all employers in England to make a Skills Pledge that is a specific promise that every eligible employee will be helped to gain basic skills and a full Level 2 qualification.

Skilled Workers: Trade Unions

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage more employers to work with trade unions on developing the Skills for Life programme.

David Lammy: holding answer 22 November 2007
	Employers and trade unions have a key role to play in supporting people to improve their literacy, language and numeracy skills.
	The Government make a contribution of 3 million each year to the Union Learning Fund to help develop a focus on Skills for Life within Union Learning Fund projects and to help give Union Learning Representatives (ULRs) the skills to support literacy, language and numeracy learners.
	Our efforts to improve skills in the work force will be much more effective if they are delivered with the joint support of employers, learners and those, like trade unions, who can support learning. Through the Skills Pledge, we are encouraging employers to commit to addressing the skills needs of their employees and, in particular, people with poor basic skills and without a full Level 2 qualification.
	We have a number of initiatives in place to encourage employers to address Skills for Life needs and to sign the Skills Pledge. In each case, we have encouraged partners to work with the TUC/Unionlearn to maximise the effectiveness of addressing skills needs.
	We have been working with Business in the Community (BITC) to engage large, high-profile employers since 2003. BITC have recruited over 30 senior business leaders as Employer Champions for Skills for Life and have worked with over 150 major companies including, DHL, SERCO and VT Shipbuilding.
	Since 2004, BITC have run an annual Skills for Life Award recognising best practice in delivering Skills for Life programmes. Each of the award winners, and many of the runner-up entrants, has delivered programmes in its organisation in partnership with relevant trade unions.
	We are working with the Skills for Business network through Asset Skills as the lead Sector Skills Council on Skills for Life. Sector Skills Councils have a role in raising awareness of literacy, language and numeracy skills among the employers they represent, in supporting them in addressing needs within their footprint and in ensuring that qualifications reflect the literacy, language and numeracy requirements of their sectors. Asset Skills has recently signed a joint agreement with Unionlearn to support joint activity on Skills for Life.
	Working with the Cabinet Office and Government Skills SSC, we want to raise basic skills levels across central Government and to influence the public sector more widely. Cabinet Office consults with the relevant unions on the approach to staff development across central Government and there are a number of examples where PCS has worked closely with central Government Departments on Skills for Lifefor example with the Department for Work and Pensions and Inland Revenue.

Skilled Workers: Trade Unions

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect on employers of their working with trades unions to improve the skills of their work forces.

David Lammy: holding answer 22 November 2007
	In recent years, with the help of the Union Learning Fund (ULF), trade unions and their Union Learning Representatives have been really successful in working with employers to raise skill levels in the workplace. There are now over 18,000 trained Union Learning reps who have helped over 400,000 workers back into learning since ULF was introduced in 1988. Over 150,000 last year alone, many of whom were Skills for Life learners, those most in need of new skills who employers and training providers find it so difficult to reach.
	An evaluation of the Union Learning Fund (2001-05) which surveyed a range of employers involved in ULF, showed that almost two-thirds of those employers who responded had a learning agreement in place as a result of ULF and 75 per cent. reported an increase in Skills for Life learning.

Students: Public Participation

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether a formal assessment was made of the quality of student representation provided by the National Union of Students before the decision to establish the National Student Forum was taken.

Bill Rammell: The Government are strongly committed to a new style of politics and citizen engagement. We are ambitious to find new ways to engage the British people in the policy-making process through informed debate.
	The Forum will not duplicate or attempt to replace the work of student representative bodies, of which the NUS is one, but will provide a new and complementary way for students to engage with policy-makers nationally. Therefore, the quality of existing representative groups is not at issue. We greatly value the representation and advocacy work of the National Union of Students, unlike the last Government who sought to decimate the NUS through the introduction of voluntary membership of student unions, and it is one of our key partners in the creation of the Forum. The Forum is intended to provide students from a wide range of personal and academic backgrounds with direct access to Government and policy-making agencies, giving a greater voice to students at a national level.

Tuberculosis: Vaccination

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether there is a funding gap for work to research and develop a new tuberculosis vaccine being undertaken in the UK, with reference to the answer of 23 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1340W on tuberculosis: vaccination.

Ian Pearson: The Medical Research Council (MRC) has recognised the need to increase funding for translational research into new vaccines, including vaccines against tuberculosis, and has made 3.5 million available in 2007-08 for such research.

Vocational Training: Advisory Services

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills who is responsible for providing information on training places for adults to  (a) employers and  (b) jobseekers.

David Lammy: Many employers already train their staff to a high degree and do not require any support in identifying training opportunities. For those employers who are unclear of where to turn we have established the Train to Gain service. Skills brokers support employers to understand their skills needs and then provide a detailed plan of how to meet those needs, including a choice of provider offering training places, often delivered on the employers premises. In addition, many training providers offer advice and support to local businesses on training places.
	DWP colleagues advise that currently, Jobcentre Plus customers can access information, advice and guidance on training opportunities from NextStep, LearnDirect and, in some locations, skills coaches funded by the LSC.

Vocational Training: Finance

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many skills brokers working through the Train to Gain programme received public funding in 2006-07; what their performance targets were; how many and what value of payments were related to their performance; and how their performance was assessed and measured.

David Lammy: There are around 450 Train to Gain skills brokers working in England for the LSC. Skills brokers' performance targets for 2006-07 were 47,770 employer engagements, of which at least 51 per cent. had to be hard to reach. We define hard-to-reach as employers that are not IiP recognised and have not accessed substantial vocational training leading to a qualification within the last 12 months. The interim data for 2006-07 indicate that there were 52,370 engagements of which 72 per cent. were categorised as hard to reach.

Vocational Training: Finance

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  how much was spent on Train to Gain brokers in 2006-07; and what percentage of the Train to Gain budget for that year this figure represents;
	(2)  how much he expects to be spent on Train to Gain brokers in 2007-08; and what percentage of the Train to Gain budget for the year this figure represents.

David Lammy: Train to Gain is a new service that has just completed its first year of full national operation. In that time it has engaged more than 52,000 employers and resulted in more than 240,000 learners commencing training, many for the first time in their adult careers. More than 70 per cent. of the employers engaged by skills brokers are classified as hard to reach (not IiP accredited and no recorded investment at a publicly funded training provider). The total budget for Train to Gain was 288 million of which 25.4 million (8.8 per cent. of the budget) was allocated to skills brokerage. This figure included many one-off set up costs associated with this new mechanism for engaging with employers. The overall budget for Train to Gain has increased to 430 million with expenditure on skills brokers remaining constant at around 24 million (5.8 per cent. of the budget). From April 2009, skills brokerage will be integrated with the information, diagnostic and brokerage services delivered through Business Link.

Vocational Training: Oxfordshire

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many  (a) companies and  (b) organisations in Oxfordshire have signed the Skills Pledge.

David Lammy: The Skills Pledge is a voluntary public commitment by the leadership of a company or organisation to support all its employees to develop their basic skills including literacy and numeracy, and work towards relevant valuable qualifications to at least level 2 (equivalent to five good GCSEs). If companies or organisations want to go beyond this and extend the commitment to help staff gain wider skills and additional qualifications as well that is welcome. The Skills Pledge is open to all employers in England.
	As at November 2007, the available information indicated that there were six companies or organisations in Oxfordshire which have signed the Skills Pledge. We do not collect separate information on companies or organisations.

Vocational Training: Oxfordshire

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many Train to Gain places have been made available in the  (a) Banbury and  (b) Oxford travel to work areas.

David Lammy: Train to Gain is a major aspect of the drive to create a demand-led service and does not generate places in the traditional sense. Through Train to Gain, employers can access the advice and support they need to help them identify and then meet the skills their businesses need to succeed. We do not collect information on travel to work areas. In the first year of its operation, there were a total of 853 learners funded through Train to Gain in the wards of Banbury and Oxford. The breakdown was as follows: Banbury 433, East Oxford 302 and West Oxford 118.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Local Policing

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to increase transparency and accountability in arrangements for local policing.

Tony McNulty: We are strongly committed to increasing transparency and accountability in arrangements for local policing, from giving local communities a better opportunity to shape local policing priorities and the response to those priorities through the roll-out of neighbourhood policing, to our plans to provide every community with monthly crime information for their local area.
	We want to build further on this progress, and that is why we asked Sir Ronnie Flanagan to look specifically at how local accountability arrangements could be strengthened as part of his Independent Review of Policing, the final report of which we look forward to in the new year.

Migration

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on the co-ordination of migration policy between Government Departments.

Liam Byrne: Home Office Ministers discuss migration policy with ministerial colleagues on a regular basis through the Cabinet Committee structure, in particular the Ministerial Committee for Domestic Affairs Sub-Committee on Migration.
	Several Government Departments are represented on the Migration Advisory Committee and the Migration Impact Forum.
	We also work closely with individual Departments on a range of more specific issues relating to migration policy. For example, in June 2007 we published our joint Home Office/Foreign Office International Strategy on migration.

Security Staff

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made identifying security staff working illegally.

Vernon Coaker: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 13 November on Security Industry Authority licensing checks and the issue of entitlement to work in the UK. The Home Secretary instigated a retrospective check of all non-EEA licences and will make a further statement when that is complete.

Identity Cards

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the likely effect of the introduction of identity cards on the incidence of crimes related to identity fraud.

Meg Hillier: Our plans for a National Identity Scheme will provide people with a secure means of protecting their identity and help citizens to prove their identities easily, quickly, simply and with vastly improved security. It is considered that this will have a significant impact upon identity fraud.

Identity Cards

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when passports will become designated documents under section 4 of the Identity Cards Act 2006.

Jacqui Smith: No decision has been taken yet on the timetable for the designation of passports and this will require approval by Parliament of an order under section 4 of the Identity Cards Act 2006.

Cannabis

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research she has commissioned on trends in the use of cannabis.

Vernon Coaker: The British Crime Survey provides consistent trend data on the use of cannabis. Since the launch of the Government's Drug Strategy in 1998 the survey has shown a reduction in the level of cannabis use.

Terrorist Suspects: Detention

Martin Salter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the reasons were for the increases in periods of detention before charge for terrorist suspects introduced in each of the last 10 years.

Tony McNulty: The increases in the maximum period of pre-charge detention for terrorist suspects in the last 10 years have been agreed by Parliament on the basis that they were needed for operational reasons.

Terrorist Suspects: Detention

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received on proposals to increase the maximum period of detention of terrorist suspects without charge beyond 28 days.

Tony McNulty: We have undertaken an extensive consultation on extending the maximum period of pre-charge detention for terrorist suspects and have received representations from a range of stakeholders, including the police, civil liberty groups, the judiciary and wider community groups.

Border Security

Dari Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the potential contribution of the e-borders scheme to the security of the UK's borders.

Liam Byrne: The e-borders programme is a key component of our wider strategy to strengthen and modernise our border control and will mean that we will be able to count people in and out of the country. It sits as part of our programme to introduce biometric visas, and a visa waiver programme to provide the UK with a new and robust offshore border control designed to complement the UK counter-terrorism strategy.
	In developing e-borders, we have undertaken a thorough assessment of the requirements of the core agencies, including the Border and Immigration Agency, UKvisas, HM Revenue and Customs, the police service and the security and intelligence agencies.
	E-borders is already being successfully tested and trialled through an operational prototype. Since November 2004, Project Semaphore has generated nearly 17,000 alerts and over 1,300 arrests.

Government Advisers

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will take steps to ensure that religious leaders who are advising on Government policy do not have an extremist background.

Tony McNulty: The Government have made clear that they are fundamentally rebalancing their engagement with Muslim organisations towards those organisations which take a leadership role in rejecting and condemning violent extremism and upholding shared values. That will be the guiding principle in engaging with religious leaders who advise Government.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of antisocial behaviour orders in reducing antisocial behaviour in the last 12 months.

Vernon Coaker: Three independent reports have confirmed that our approach to tackling antisocial behaviour is working. Also, we have appointed IPSOS Mori to undertake a qualitative study investigating the circumstances in which different antisocial behaviour interventions are most effective. Antisocial behaviour orders are just one of these. The outcome is to be published in 2008.

Youth Crime

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of levels of youth crime.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available from the Home Office recorded crime statistics. This data series solely covers offences recorded by the police and no details of the alleged offenders are collected. The Home Office's Offending Crime and Justice Survey 2006 gives figures for young people's self-reported offending. According to this research, 24 per cent. of 10 to 17-year-olds committed an offence in the 12 months prior to the survey.

Immigration

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her latest estimate is of the number of people held in detention under immigration law.

Liam Byrne: As at 29 September 2007, 2,325 persons were recorded as being in detention in the UK solely under Immigration Act powers.

Alcoholic Drinks: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to reduce alcohol-related antisocial behaviour in Chelmsford.

Vernon Coaker: We are strongly committed to tackling, not tolerating, antisocial behaviour. That is why local crime and disorder reduction partnerships were introduced under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. These enable the police, local authorities and other agencies representing the local community to work together to identify the crime and disorder problems in their area and take action to tackle them.
	Specifically in Chelmsford, a Section 30 Dispersal Order was introduced in Chelmsford Town Centre on 15 November; the police carry out high visibility patrols; the licensing laws are enforced; a Pub Link Scheme is in operation; educational programmes are in place for young people and adults, and Chelmsford also has a local Drug and Alcohol Strategy which is being reviewed for 2008.

Antisocial Behaviour: Criminal Proceedings

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government have taken to provide support to victims and witnesses of antisocial behaviour before, during and after relevant court proceedings.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office is responsible for the policy on antisocial behaviour. The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 introduced special measures for witnesses in proceedings for antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs). These measures were introduced to address concerns about the protection of vulnerable and intimidated witnesses. The measures include screening witnesses from the defendants, giving evidence through video link or in private, and the use of video recorded evidence. This makes it easier for witnesses to give evidence in the Crown and magistrates court during an ASBO hearing. Special dedicated antisocial behaviour response courts have been established in magistrates courts sitting in their civil capacity to ensure that witness issues are addressed. Local agencies have also developed efficient case management systems which includes working in partnership with key agencies to provide support to victims after court proceedings. In addition the Home Office has issued a good practice guide to practitioners on how best to support victims and witnesses of antisocial behaviour through the whole length of the witness pathway. A range of detailed guidance is set out on our website at:
	http://www.respect.gov.uk/members/article.aspx?id=8342

Antisocial Behaviour: West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government have taken to reduce levels of antisocial behaviour in the West Midlands since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: We are strongly committed to tackling, not tolerating, antisocial behaviour. That is why local crime and disorder reduction partnerships were introduced under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. These enable the police, local authorities and other agencies representing the local community to work together to identify the crime and disorder problems in their area and take action to tackle them.
	Antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) were introduced in 1999 and the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 created a range of additional tools for tackling antisocial behaviour and we are working hard across Government and with agencies on the ground to ensure that the measures that are already in place are being used as effectively as possible. Presently, the Home Office is reviewing and updating the current guidance for the tools and powers available to practitioners.
	Specifically in the West Midlands; Coventry has established a multi-agency tasking process to ensure police, housing and local authority resources, including the citywide warden service are deployed in the right areas. Wolverhampton has established a dedicated phone line to allow members of the public to tackle antisocial behaviour and in Birmingham the local authority has implemented a Family Intervention Project, run by Shelter, and has appointed a parenting co-ordinator to deliver evidence based parenting programmes across the city. The Local Government User Satisfaction Survey (LGUSS) shows that the vast majority of local authorities in the West Midlands have seen a significant reduction in the levels of perception of antisocial behaviour in 2006-07 compared with 2003-04. The data from this survey can be found on the Respect website at:
	www.respect.gov.uk

Anti-Terrorism Control Orders

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assistance individuals subject to control orders receive with their living costs.

Tony McNulty: Individuals subject to control orders are not routinely prevented from taking employment or from receiving state benefits, including where appropriate, job seekers allowance, housing benefit and asylum support. However, if the terms of a control order prevent an individual gaining employment or render him ineligible for other benefits, the Home Office will make necessary subsistence payments.
	If an individual subject to a control order is required to move from their current residence, the Home Office may provide suitable alternative accommodation and pay council tax and utility costs.
	In some circumstances, the Home Office may pay the line rental for a telephone and/or provide pre-paid telephone cards. This may be appropriate where a controlled person is prohibited by the terms of the control order from using telephones outside his residence and/or using mobile telephones.
	All control order obligations are tailored to the individual concerned and in each case must be necessary and proportionate for purposes connected with preventing or restricting involvement by that individual in terrorism-related activity.

Anti-Terrorism Control Orders

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any of the individuals who have been subjected to control orders have been treated for self-inflicted injuries.

Tony McNulty: Since control orders came into force in 2005, we are aware of two individuals who have been treated for self-inflicted injuries while on a control order. The Home Office, police and (as appropriate) the Prison Service take the mental and physical health of all individuals subject to a control order seriously. This includes monitoring the impact of the control order on the individual's (and his family's) physical and mental health; seeking representations from the individual on the impact of the control order on him and his family; and regularly reviewing the control order and its constituent obligations in the light of the order's impact on the individual's personal circumstances.

Arrests

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests on average were made by each police officer in  (a) England and Wales and  (b) each police force area in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: Information on arrest rates is not collected centrally and is a matter for each police force.

British Nationality: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many citizenship ceremonies have taken place in Northern Ireland in each of the last 12 months; and how many people have become British subjects at these ceremonies, broken down by country of birth.

Liam Byrne: A total of 31 citizenship ceremonies were held in Northern Ireland during the last 12 months. 520 people became British citizens at these ceremonies. A full breakdown by month and nationality is as follows.
	A table giving the full breakdown of ceremonies by month and nationality has been deposited in the House of Commons Library.
	The information has been provided from local management information and is not a National Statistic. As such, it should be treated as provisional and therefore subject to change.
	
		
			  Ceremony attended in Northern Ireland 
			   2006  2007 
			   November  December  January  February  March  April 
			 Overall Total Number of Adults Attending Ceremonies 20 30 25 40 30 40 
			 Philippines (1) 10 5 15 10 20 
			 India  (1) (1) 5 (1) 5 
			 China (Peoples Republic of China)  (1) (1) 5 (1) 5 
			 South Africa 5 5  5  (1) 
			 British National (Overseas)   (1)  (1) (1) 
			 Turkey   (1) (1) (1) (1) 
			 Zimbabwe   (1) (1)   
			 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1) 5 (1)  (1)  
			 United States of America (1) (1) (1)  5  
			 Pakistan (1)   (1) (1)  
			 Other Nationalities 10 10 5 15 10 10 
		
	
	
		
			   2007 
			   May  June  July  August  September  October 
			 Overall Total Number of Adults Attending Ceremonies 40 65 40 60 55 75 
			 Philippines 20 30 25 30 15 35 
			 India 5 5 5 10 10 10 
			 China (Peoples Republic of China) (1) 5 (1) 5 10 10 
			 South Africa (1) (1) 5 10  5 
			 British National (Overseas) 5 (1)  (1) 5 10 
			 Turkey  (1)   5  
			 Zimbabwe (1)  5 (1) (1) (1) 
			 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1) (1) 
			 United States of America (1)  (1)
			 Pakistan   (1) (1) (1)  
			 Other Nationalities 5 20 5 5 10 15 
			 (1) Negligible i.e. 2 or less.  Notes: 1. Relates to adults only. 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.  Source: Local Management Information.

Children: Protection

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many specialist child protection officers have been employed in each police force area in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: Figures collected by the Home Office, on police officer and staff numbers by function, do not separately identify child protection officers.

Commissioner of the Police for the Metropolis

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what meetings she had with the Commissioner of the Police for the Metropolis in each week since June 2007; what the  (a) location and  (b) duration of each meeting was; whether a record of each meeting was kept; who attended each meeting; what the cost was of each meeting, broken down by (i) administrative and (ii) other costs; and if she will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and I have regular meetings with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner to discuss official business.

Community Relations

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training is being provided to neighbourhood police teams on dealing with radicalisation in their local communities; where such courses are delivered; and what the duration of such courses is.

Tony McNulty: I refer to the reply I gave on 19 November 2007,  Official Report, column 504-05W to my hon. Friend, the Member for Rotherham (Mr. MacShane).
	In addition to the advice and training already available to Neighbourhood Policing Teams, some also receive bespoke 'Intelligence and Community Engagement' training, which examines the issues relating to neighbourhood policing teams' engagement with local communities. This training, which lasts a day and is delivered in force, is being piloted in four police forces and consideration is now being given to its wider dissemination. Police personnel are also able to learn about how to deal with radicalisation through a specific internet website.
	The National Policing Improvement Agency is currently completing a major Training Needs Analysis for Counter-Terrorism which includes an analysis of training needs in the areas of radicalisation and extremism. The new learning programme will be available in 2008.

Community Support Officers: Manpower

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers there were in each of the last four years in each police force area.

Tony McNulty: Figures for the four years from 31 March 2004 to 31 March 2007, the most recent published period, are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Police community support officer strength( 1)  (FTE)( 2)  by police force: 31 March 2004 to 31 March 2007 
			  Police force  31 March 2004  31 March 2005( 3)  31 March 2006( 3)  31 March 2007( 3) 
			 Avon and Somerset 45 139 130 302 
			 Bedfordshire 12 40 41 83 
			 Cambridgeshire 57 86 101 184 
			 Cheshire 50 52 75 176 
			 Cleveland 77 75 100 114 
			 Cumbria 0 17 17 85 
			 Derbyshire 0 43 42 181 
			 Devon and Cornwall 51 74 74 317 
			 Dorset 8 47 61 122 
			 Durham 28 69 67 142 
			 Essex 86 179 192 388 
			 Gloucestershire 54 72 72 169 
			 Greater Manchester 173 269 251 763 
			 Hampshire 0 26 30 296 
			 Hertfordshire 46 98 139 223 
			 Humberside 0 20 20 194 
			 Kent 59 105 97 203 
			 Lancashire 110 161 184 374 
			 Leicestershire 41 103 136 216 
			 Lincolnshire 38 75 78 147 
			 London, City of 0 14 11 36 
			 Merseyside 72 170 196 332 
			 Metropolitan Police 1,463 2,147 2,315 3,694 
			 Norfolk 33 68 65 176 
			 Northamptonshire 10 37 40 129 
			 Northumbria 51 126 129 248 
			 North Yorkshire 52 75 71 147 
			 Nottinghamshire 56 108 112 217 
			 South Yorkshire 59 124 121 302 
			 Staffordshire 7 63 70 203 
			 Suffolk 15 34 30 123 
			 Surrey 56 115 126 203 
			 Sussex 83 228 257 352 
			 Thames Valley 7 98 130 213 
			 Warwickshire 25 56 64 127 
			 West Mercia 57 81 85 217 
			 West Midlands 39 219 252 644 
			 West Yorkshire 265 394 462 690 
			 Wiltshire 23 41 57 121 
			 Dyfed-Powys 5 25 26 77 
			 Gwent 45 77 76 105 
			 North Wales 0 59 58 145 
			 South Wales 59 107 111 314 
			 Total England and Wales 3,418 6,214 6,769 13,497 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) Full-time equivalent includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. (3) Strength figures as at 31 March 2005 onwards include those staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. Therefore these figures are not comparable with those provided for other years in the table.

Crime

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many investigations resulted in the police taking no further action in  (a) England and Wales and  (b) each police force area in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not collected centrally. The Home Office collects information on the number of offences recorded and detected by the police but no information is held on the actual number of investigations undertaken by the police.

Departmental Buildings

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent by her Department on renovation and refurbishment of its properties in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Opinion Polls

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what opinion polls the Department has conducted of  (a) the public and  (b) staff since 27 June 2007; and what the (i) name of the firm employed to conduct the poll, (ii) purpose and (iii) cost to the public purse was in each case.

Liam Byrne: The information is as follows.
	 (a) Since 27 June 2007 the Department has conducted one wave of public opinion polling across a broad range of Home Office issues, of during August 2007. This polling was carried out by Ipsos MORI, at a cost of 13,875 (ex VAT).
	The polling was used to give the Department a better understanding of public priorities, concerns and satisfaction levels. This will help direct the Department's strategy and future policy initiatives.
	 (b) The Home Office headquarters, Border and Immigration Agency and Identity and Passport Service have not conducted any opinion polls of staff since 27 June 2007. The Criminal Records Bureau employed the research company Ipsos MORI to conduct a staff survey between 10 and 28 September 2007. This is an annual consultation exercise with staff to gain feedback on any issues of concern that senior management can take steps to address and it was undertaken at a cost of 25,000.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department and its agencies spent on managing their corporate identities in the last 12-month period for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: Over the past 12 months 77,069 has been spent on managing corporate identity when Border and Immigration Agency became a shadow executive agency.

Departmental Wines

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will take steps to ensure that English wine is served exclusively or at the request of guests at meals, parties and receptions hosted by her Department; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: All public procurement procedures must comply with the EC treaty. The key principles of the treaty, from a public procurement point of view, are the free movement of goods and services, and non-discrimination on the grounds of nationality. This legislation is designed to ensure that all public procurement across the European Union is fair, transparent and non-discriminatory.
	This means that the Home Department cannot specify that it will buy goods (eg wine) only from a particular country or locality, as that would discriminate against producers from other EU member states.
	However, the Government are committed to increase opportunities for small and local suppliers to tender for contracts, thus increasing competition and securing better value for money. The Home Office does this by advertising contracts on the Home Office eSourcing Portal www.homeoffice.bravosolution.com which reduces bureaucracy in the procurement process.
	The facility management contractor for the Department's headquarters building includes a number of English wines on its hospitality menu for selection at departmental functions.

Drugs: Misuse

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what drugs programmes are administered by her Department; and what the budget for each was for the last five years for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office is responsible for administering the national sports-based Positive Futures social inclusion Programme, Blueprint drug research programme and the Drug Interventions Programme. The Home Office is also jointly responsible with the Department of Health and Department for Children, Schools and Families for the management of the FRANK drug awareness campaign. The Home Office also contributes to and manages the cross-Government Young People Substance Misuse Partnership Grant.
	Total expenditure on these drugs programme was captured within the Home Office departmental report for 2006-07 on our previous strategic objective that fewer people's lives are ruined by drugs and alcohol. The relevant figures are set out as follows, including outturn figures for 2006-07 where an estimate was published previously:
	
		
			  000 
			   Resource  Capital 
			  Outturn   
			 2003-04 96,351 0 
			 2004-05 206,904 2,174 
			 2005-06 184,468 800 
			 2006-07 211,472 20,272 
			
			  Planned   
			 2007-08 192,876 1,500 
			  Notes: 1. 2004-05 includes net in-year budget transfers of about 24,000, which were subsequently processed in line with PES 2005 12. 2. 2006-07 includes 17,459 misallocated capital that is being corrected. 3. 2006-07 and 2007-08 figures both exclude 11,273 resource disbursed as grants under local area agreements and now classified separately on the HM Treasury database.  Source: HM Treasury database

Entry Clearances: Employment

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of the number of A2 nationals likely to enter the UK for employment purposes annually  (a) under existing arrangements; and  (b) following full right of access under EU law.

Liam Byrne: The Border and Immigration Agency has not made any estimates of the number of A2 nationals likely to enter the UK for employment purposes following full right of access under EU law. Figures on migration since January 2007 are available in the quarterly releases of Romanian and Bulgarian accession statistics which can be found on the BIA website
	http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/reports/bulgarianandromanianaccession.
	I will place in the House Library copies of the most recent quarterly release.

Harassment: Complaints

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints of  (a) sexual and  (b) racial harassment were received by the Metropolitan Police in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: This is a matter for the Metropolitan police.

Human Trafficking

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions her Department has had with the Scottish Executive on Operation Pentameter 2.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 22 November 2007
	 There have been regular discussions with the Scottish Executive in relation to the conduct of Operation Pentameter 2. The Scottish Executive are represented alongside the Home Office on the police-led multi-agency co-ordination group leading the operation.

Immigration Controls: Heathrow Airport

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there are any guidelines at Heathrow airport to maintain an ethnically balanced team checking passports of outgoing and incoming travellers.

Liam Byrne: The Border and Immigration Agency recruit and roster staff without regard to race or ethnic background and in accordance with the Home Office Race Equality and Diversity Statement.

Immigration: EU Countries

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what studies her Department has conducted into the  (a) potential effects of the impending transition of Schengen area EU states including Poland, Slovakia and Hungary on border control systems of nations such as Ukraine and  (b) consequential impact on UK immigration policy.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 20 November 2007
	The Home Office is considering the implications of the expansion of the Schengen area and any additional immigration response required.

Influenza

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what  (a) advice and  (b) resources would be made available to local authorities in addressing the problems of increased mortality as a consequence of an influenza pandemic; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on the development of policy for the handling and management of the deceased as a consequence of increased mortality during any future pandemic influenza outbreak; when she plans to issue revised guidance; and what discussions she has had with devolved authorities on the co-ordination of policy.

Tony McNulty: On 30 August 2007, the Home Office published Planning for a possible Influenza PandemicA framework for planners preparing to manage deaths, for consultation. This draft document provides guidance to local authority planners faced with the task of managing excess fatalities in the event of pandemic influenza. It was produced by the Home Office in consultation with a working group representing all the Departments involved in this task together with the Local Government Association, the Faith Communities Consultative Council and representatives of the funeral industry. Representatives of the devolved Administrations also attend the working group.
	After the close of the consultation period on 30 November 2007, we will consider the views of respondents and the need for any revisions to the document. The Departments with responsibility for processes such as medical certification of the cause of death; and burial and cremation certification will issue guidelines to their operational counterparts in light of the consultation. We will ensure that local authorities are informed of any changes and make revisions to the publication during the first quarter of 2008. It is not proposed that additional resources for managing excess deaths will be made available to local authorities during an influenza pandemic.

Missing People: Finance

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding her Department provided to the charity Missing People in 2006-07; how much has been provided for 2007-08; and what the allocation will be in 2008-09.

Tony McNulty: In 2006-07, the Home Office provided funding of 600,000 to Missing People with an additional 300,000 one-off payment. In 2007-08, 600,000 has again been provided from the Home Office to the charity. The baseline budget proposed for funds to Missing People from the Home Office in 2008-09 is 600,000, but this allocation is subject to final decision by Ministers.

National Missing Persons Bureau

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information technology equipment and resources are available to the police National Missing Persons Bureau.

Tony McNulty: The Police National Missing Persons Bureau (PNMPB) currently use a Metropolitan Police Service system called Merlin to record and search records of missing persons. They also have access to PNC (Police National Computer) to carry out checks on missing/wanted persons and utilise open source facilities such as the internet and electoral roll for various searches. The PNMPB has responsibility for the UKMissingkids.com website and, therefore, has the requisite software to host this site.
	In April 2008, the PNMPB will transfer to the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA). From this time, accessibility to technology and resources will be significantly enhanced. The NPIA is implementing Hermes as the database for the PNMPB. Hermes is a purpose-built database developed and implemented in to the Missing People charity through the Invest to Save Initiative in 2004-05. The shared technology between the bureau and the charity will facilitate effective transfer of data between the two organisations and collaborative efforts on research and analysis projects.
	The PNMPB, under the NPIA, will also have access to, and be able to search, the PNC. In addition, the bureau will be able to triangulate reports of missing persons with serious offences and the activities of sexual and dangerous offenders by having direct access to ViSOR (Violent and Sex Offender Register), INI (IMPACT Nominal Index) and SCAS (Serious Crime Analysis Section) data. They will also be able to access the child homicide database CATCHEM (Central Analytical Team Collating Homicide Expertise and Management), the National Injuries Database, and liaise with the National DNA Database custodianthe NPIA.

National Missing Persons Bureau: Manpower

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff work for the police National Missing Persons Bureau; and at what grade.

Tony McNulty: The Police National Missing Persons Bureau is currently staffed by Metropolitan Police Service employees as follows:
	1 x band D
	2 x full-time band E, plus 1 x part-time (3 days per week) band E
	1 x band E currently on maternity leave and being covered by agency staff.
	The bureau is overseen by a band C member of staff who is able to commit one fifth of his working hours to this role due to his other responsibilities.
	In April 2008, the PNMPB will transfer to the National Policing Improvement Agency. From this time, the staffing structure will become:
	1 x Bureau Manager, grade 3a
	1 x Police Liaison Officer, seconded police sergeant, or civilian grade 2b
	1 x Strategic Analyst, grade 2b
	1 x Tactical Analyst, grade 2b
	6 x Intelligence Officers, grade 1b
	The bureau will be headed up by a grade 3b member of staff who also heads the Serious Crime Analysis Section.

National Security

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the review by Lord West on the protection of strategic infrastructure assessed potential vulnerabilities of  (a) civil nuclear installations,  (b) military nuclear sites and  (c) the national electricity grid.

Tony McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary's statement of 14 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 44-45 WS.
	The review addressed the programme of work to protect the electricity sector and other parts of the critical national infrastructure. Lord West also considered the protective security framework for civil nuclear power stations, responsibility for which falls to the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. However, the review did not address protective security for military nuclear sites, responsibility for which falls to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence.

National Security

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department from which Government Departments the 160 counter-terrorism advisers she announced in her statement of 14 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 667-72, on national security, will be sourced.

Tony McNulty: Counter-terrorism security advisers are employed by police forces.

Offenders: Deportation

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Prime Minister's oral statement of 14 November on national security, to which countries the 4,000 foreign prisoners referred to are to be deported.

Liam Byrne: Nationals of all countries can be considered for deportation. The Chief Executive of the Border and Immigration Agency, Lin Homer, wrote to the Home Affairs Committee on 20 November 2007 and explained that up to the first week of November, approximately 3,500 foreign national prisoners have been removed or deported in 2007. This already represents a 48 per cent. improvement on the total number of FNPs removed for the entire calendar year of 2006, and over 130 per cent. more than for the calendar years 2004 and 2005. A copy of this letter is available from the Library of the House.

Passports: Forgery

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what stage the document scanning equipment with forgery detection capability tender for  (a) Heathrow airport,  (b) other airports and  (c) Eurotunnel has reached.

Liam Byrne: All ports and airports were equipped with document readers with forgery detection capability as part of a technical refresh which was completed in March 2007.

Passports: Fraud

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to manage people who arrive at airports in the UK without the passports with which they checked in at their departure airport.

Liam Byrne: All arriving passengers are subjected to a Border and Immigration Agency Warnings Index check. Where the passenger does not hold a passport, they are subject to further examination in order satisfactorily to establish their identity and nationality. Additional checks may also be conducted including checks with the police, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, UKVisas and the Identity and Passport Service.
	Passengers who arrive without documentation and claim asylum are interviewed, photographed and have their fingerprints taken; their personal details are cross- checked against records.
	Where a passenger arrives without a document and the inbound flight details are not known, inquiries are conducted in order to establish the carrier and to identify if there are any grounds to suspect that the passenger's entry has been facilitated by a third party. If such a party is detected then prosecution under section 25 of the Immigration Act 1971 (as amended) may follow.
	Foreign nationals who arrive undocumented and are unable to provide a statutory defence for their actions may have committed an offence under section 2 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004 and may be prosecuted accordingly.

Police

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police forces operate a system of named local police officers.

Tony McNulty: The full implementation of Neighbourhood Policing is due to be completed by April 2008 when all 43 police forces in England and Wales will have local neighbourhood policing teams covering their entire force area.
	Police forces, where such a Neighbourhood Policing team is fully in place, will aim to provide the names of individual neighbourhood policing team members together with their team contact details through written updates to the local community (such as local policing summaries) and individual police force websites. Police forces are also currently looking at other ways of conveying this information to the general public through a range of publicity material.

Police Custody

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police cells there were in each police force area on 1 November; and how many of these were reserved under Operation Safeguard.

Tony McNulty: Information on the number of cells in each force area is not held centrally. The provision of police cell accommodation is a matter for the chief officer of each individual force.
	The number of places provided by police forces for Operation Safeguard use may vary according to operational pressures. The following table gives details of police forces that on 16 November 2007 had places available in police cells as part of Operation Safeguard.
	
		
			  Police force  Places available 
			 Bedfordshire 3 
			 Cambridgeshire 8 
			 Cheshire 36 
			 Cumbria 4 
			 Derbyshire 5 
			 Devon and Cornwall 6 
			 Dorset 2 
			 Durham 8 
			 Essex 18 
			 Greater Manchester 17 
			 Gwent 9 
			 Hertfordshire 10 
			 Kent 16 
			 Lancashire 7 
			 Leicestershire 18 
			 Lincolnshire 10 
			 Metropolitan 54 
			 North Wales 16 
			 Northamptonshire 6 
			 Northumbria 10 
			 South Wales 13 
			 South Yorkshire 8 
			 Suffolk 8 
			 Thames Valley 11 
			 Warwickshire 8 
			 West Midlands 40 
			 West Yorkshire 26

Police Custody: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) police cells and  (b) custody suites there are in West Chelmsford constituency.

Tony McNulty: The provision of police custody accommodation is a matter for the chief constable of Essex police and for the police authority.

Police Custody: Wales

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police cells or custody suites there are in each of the police forces in Wales.

Tony McNulty: The provision of police custody accommodation is a matter for each chief constable and police authority.

Police Stations: Opening Hours

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many police stations were never closed in  (a) England,  (b) London and  (c) each London borough in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many police stations were open in  (a) England,  (b) London and  (c) each London borough in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The Home Office does not have reliable data submitted by forces on the total number of police stations open and never closed since 1997.

Police: Airports

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2007,  Official Report, column 680W, on police: airports, 
	(1)  which non-designated airports have a routine police presence;
	(2)  whether information on the size of the routine police presence at  (a) designated and  (b) non-designated airports is held centrally.

Tony McNulty: The uniformed police contribution to airport security in the UK is a local matter for the airport operator and the police force for the area concerned. Whether an airport is designated or not, neither party is required routinely to provide information centrally on the police presence.

Police: Allowances

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was paid in attendance allowances to members of police authorities in England and Wales in each of the last 10 municipal years; and how much she estimates will be allocated in the 2007-08 municipal year.

Tony McNulty: The information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Police: Armed Forces

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what schemes are in place to encourage forces personnel to join the police service.

Tony McNulty: It is for individual forces to decide how to target their recruitment activity.

Police: Graduates

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many university graduates have been hired by the Metropolitan Police in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: This information is not held centrally. This is a matter for the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

Police: Interpreters and Translators

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) full-time and  (b) part-time interpreters of the (i) Arabic, (ii) Romanian, (iii) Bulgarian, (iv) Lithuanian, (v) Czech and (vi) Polish language were employed by the police in the Greater London area in (A) 1997 and (B) 2006.

Tony McNulty: This information is not collected centrally.

Police: Interpreters and Translators

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of translators in police stations was in  (a) England and  (b) each London borough in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: Funding for translation and interpretation services is not separately identified. Decisions on the distribution of resources are matters for the chief officer and the police authority.

Police: Manpower

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in each police authority area in England in each year since 1997; and what the ratio of police officers to residents was in each area, in each year.

Tony McNulty: The available data are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Police officer strength and total officers per 100,000 population( 1)  (FTE)( 2)  by police force area as at 31 March 1997 to 31 March 2007( 3,4) 
			   31 March 1997  31 March 1998  31 March 1999  31 March 2000( 5) 
			  Police force  Total police officer strength (FTE)  Total police officers per 100,000 population  Total police officer strength (FTE)  Total police officers per 100,000 population  Total police officer strength (FTE)  Total police officers per 100,000 population  Total police officer strength (FTE)  Total police officers per 100,000 population 
			 Avon and Somerset 2,989 204 2,976 203 2,999 203 2,934 197 
			 Bedfordshire 1,094 200 1,079 197 1,041 189 1,028 185 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,302 188 1,291 184 1,274 179 1,237 172 
			 Cheshire 2,046 209 2,042 208 2,071 211 2,011 204 
			 Cleveland 1,459 261 1,483 266 1,416 255 1,404 252 
			 Cumbria 1,144 233 1,164 237 1,126 229 1,084 220 
			 Derbyshire 1,791 187 1,772 184 1,759 182 1,777 183 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2,865 186 2,962 192 2,887 186 2,841 182 
			 Dorset 1,284 189 1,310 192 1,279 186 1,306 189 
			 Durham 1,461 240 1,515 249 1,568 258 1,558 256 
			 Essex 2,961 197 2,928 193 2,891 190 2,806 183 
			 Gloucestershire 1,133 205 1,104 198 1,104 197 1,114 200 
			 Greater Manchester 6,922 268 6,949 270 6,810 265 6,795 264 
			 Hampshire 3,452 198 3,490 199 3,473 197 3,419 193 
			 Hertfordshire 1,759 205 1,740 202 1,724 198 1,767 201 
			 Humberside 2,045 230 2,021 228 1,974 223 1,932 219 
			 Kent 3,260 210 3,251 209 3,201 204 3,204 204 
			 Lancashire 3,247 228 3,257 229 3,245 228 3,179 223 
			 Leicestershire 1,949 211 1,983 214 1,993 215 1,993 215 
			 Lincolnshire 1,196 196 1,191 193 1,140 184 1,115 179 
			 London, City of(6) 859  825  778  732  
			 Merseyside 4,230 296 4,216 297 4,211 298 4,085 290 
			 Metropolitan Police 26,677 367 26,094 356 26,073 352 25,485 341 
			 Norfolk 1,432 185 1,430 184 1,381 176 1,381 175 
			 Northamptonshire 1,177 196 1,169 193 1,137 186 1,117 181 
			 Northumbria 3,677 256 3,769 263 3,840 269 3,788 266 
			 North Yorkshire 1,338 183 1,367 186 1,337 181 1,283 173 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,323 225 2,323 225 2,225 216 2,204 214 
			 South Yorkshire 3,159 242 3,182 244 3,168 243 3,163 243 
			 Staffordshire 2,211 209 2,292 217 2,238 211 2,170 204 
			 Suffolk 1,180 180 1,186 179 1,190 179 1,145 171 
			 Surrey 1,620 209 1,608 207 1,662 212 1,785 227 
			 Sussex 3,085 211 3,038 206 2,847 191 2,822 188 
			 Thames Valley 3,695 180 3,776 183 3,748 180 3,740 178 
			 Warwickshire 926 186 924 185 908 180 900 178 
			 West Mercia 2,040 183 2,010 180 2,025 180 1,887 166 
			 West Midlands 7,113 270 7,156 271 7,321 278 7,194 274 
			 West Yorkshire 5,209 247 5,155 244 4,982 236 4,822 228 
			 Wiltshire 1,154 195 1,156 195 1,151 192 1,118 185 
		
	
	
		
			   31 March 2001( 5)  31 March 2002( 3)  31 March 2003( 4) 
			  Police force  Total police officer strength (FTE)  Total police officers per 100,000 population  Total police officer strength (FTE)  Total police officers per 100,000 population  Total police officer strength (FTE)  Total police officers per 100,000 population 
			 Avon and Somerset 2,960 197 3,096 205 3,160 213 
			 Bedfordshire 1,036 184 1,069 189 1,119 198 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,296 179 1,362 187 1,391 196 
			 Cheshire 2,002 204 2,059 209 2,137 217 
			 Cleveland 1,407 253 1,461 263 1,592 294 
			 Cumbria 1,048 213 1,100 224 1,154 237 
			 Derbyshire 1,823 187 1,848 189 2,010 210 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2,934 187 3,053 192 3,215 204 
			 Dorset 1,354 196 1,381 198 1,422 205 
			 Durham 1,595 263 1,614 266 1,662 281 
			 Essex 2,887 178 2,946 181 3,007 186 
			 Gloucestershire 1,173 209 1,183 209 1,237 219 
			 Greater Manchester 6,909 268 7,217 279 7,391 298 
			 Hampshire 3,435 193 3,480 195 3,707 208 
			 Hertfordshire 1,922 184 1,825 174 1,977 191 
			 Humberside 1,917 217 2,058 234 2,123 244 
			 Kent 3,319 209 3,355 210 3,488 221 
			 Lancashire 3,255 228 3,304 231 3,380 239 
			 Leicestershire 2,033 217 2,100 224 2,147 232 
			 Lincolnshire 1,202 191 1,198 189 1,236 191 
			 London, City of(6) 703  764  811  
			 Merseyside 4,081 291 4,125 294 4,112 302 
			 Metropolitan Police 24,878 351 26,223 366 28,231 404 
			 Norfolk 1,420 178 1,468 183 1,509 189 
			 Northamptonshire 1,157 186 1,214 194 1,222 194 
			 Northumbria 3,857 272 3,929 278 4,018 290 
			 North Yorkshire 1,305 175 1,417 188 1,452 193 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,212 214 2,330 226 2,426 239 
			 South Yorkshire 3,197 245 3,199 246 3,194 252 
			 Staffordshire 2,129 201 2,133 201 2,224 212 
			 Suffolk 1,133 168 1,203 177 1,258 188 
			 Surrey 2,066 192 1,992 184 1,933 182 
			 Sussex 2,855 188 2,893 190 3,037 203 
			 Thames Valley 3,703 175 3,762 177 3,899 186 
			 Warwickshire 926 182 969 190 1,000 198 
			 West Mercia 1,951 171 2,018 176 2,267 196 
			 West Midlands 7,423 283 7,681 293 7,832 307 
			 West Yorkshire 4,815 228 4,889 230 5,037 242 
			 Wiltshire 1,120 184 1,157 189 1,169 190 
		
	
	continued
	
		
			   31 March 2004  31 March 2005  31 March 2006  31 March 2007 
			   Total police officer strength (FTE)  Total police officers per 100,000 population  Total police officer strength (FTE)  Total police officers per 100,000 population  Total police officer strength (FTE)  Total police officers per 100,000 population  Total police officer strength (FTE)  Total police officers per 100,000 population 
			 Avon and Somerset 3,417 229 3,398 225 3,439 226 3,430 224 
			 Bedfordshire 1,199 210 1,232 215 1,225 213 1,204 207 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,412 197 1,418 194 1,449 196 1,402 187 
			 Cheshire 2,204 224 2,207 223 2,218 223 2,235 225 
			 Cleveland 1,697 314 1,689 305 1,702 308 1,739 315 
			 Cumbria 1,241 254 1,260 257 1,265 256 1,273 255 
			 Derbyshire 2,084 216 2,082 213 2,073 212 2,049 209 
			 Devon and Cornwall 3,311 208 3,399 212 3,540 219 3,523 216 
			 Dorset 1,453 209 1,475 211 1,512 216 1,526 217 
			 Durham 1,701 288 1,738 293 1,716 288 1,705 285 
			 Essex 3,120 192 3,230 198 3,322 203 3,341 203 
			 Gloucestershire 1,298 229 1,308 230 1,303 228 1,319 229 
			 Greater Manchester 8,111 323 8,119 321 8,071 318 7,992 314 
			 Hampshire 3,780 211 3,803 212 3,800 211 3,887 215 
			 Hertfordshire 2,117 204 2,145 206 2,166 208 2,202 210 
			 Humberside 2,231 256 2,252 255 2,232 251 2,235 251 
			 Kent 3,621 228 3,630 227 3,648 227 3,720 229 
			 Lancashire 3,579 252 3,585 251 3,635 253 3,628 252 
			 Leicestershire 2,300 246 2,311 246 2,277 241 2,255 237 
			 Lincolnshire 1,241 189 1,234 185 1,236 183 1,243 183 
			 London, City of(6) 856  881  875  861  
			 Merseyside 4,129 303 4,339 318 4,302 315 4,441 325 
			 Metropolitan Police 30,035 420 31,073 433 30,948 417 31,128 426 
			 Norfolk 1,524 190 1,554 192 1,575 193 1,577 191 
			 Northamptonshire 1,261 198 1,289 201 1,338 207 1,301 200 
			 Northumbria 4,061 294 4,088 294 4,066 291 3,981 283 
			 North Yorkshire 1,534 203 1,561 206 1,653 216 1,671 217 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,507 245 2,522 245 2,512 243 2,445 235 
			 South Yorkshire 3,307 261 3,307 260 3,305 259 3,289 256 
			 Staffordshire 2,286 218 2,309 220 2,302 219 2,315 219 
			 Suffolk 1,314 196 1,323 195 1,307 191 1 ,358 196 
			 Surrey 1,942 183 1,959 184 1,967 184 1,963 183 
			 Sussex 3,090 206 3,094 205 3,127 207 3,113 205 
			 Thames Valley 4,103 195 4,189 198 4,288 202 4,260 199 
			 Warwickshire 1,011 197 1,012 195 1,040 198 1,061 199 
			 West Mercia 2,365 202 2,380 203 2,385 202 2,428 205 
			 West Midlands 8,008 311 8,154 316 8,192 318 8,245 318 
			 West Yorkshire 5,313 254 5,671 271 5,685 270 5,713 270 
			 Wiltshire 1,225 198 1,229 198 1,230 196 1,208 192 
			 (1 )This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) Full-time equivalent excludes those on career breaks or maternity leave. (3) Figures for 1997 to March 2002 exclude those officers on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. Therefore figures after March 2002 are not directly comparable with prior years. (4) Figures from April 2002 onwards include those officers who are on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. Therefore figures before and after that date are not directly comparable. (5) Boundary changes on 1 April 2000 transferred some resources from the Metropolitan police to Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey police forces. (6) Officers per 100,000 population for City of London and Metropolitan police are combined.

Police: Misrepresentation

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were charged with wasting police time, other than by making malicious complaints against the police, in each police force area in England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not held centrally. Wasting police time by giving false reports is a summary offence and is not included in the Home Office recorded crime statistics.

Police: Rural Areas

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make a statement on her policy for rural policing.

Tony McNulty: The full implementation of Neighbourhood Policing is due to be completed by April 2008 when all 43 police forces in England and Wales will have local neighbourhood policing teams covering their entire force area. Neighbourhood policing is designed to be tailored to the priorities and needs of local communities whether they are urban or rural.
	The NPIA National Neighbourhood Policing Programme Team is in the final process of designing a guide to assist practitioners at all levels in the service in delivering and sustaining neighbourhood policing within rural communities. This is identifying and addressing neighbourhood priorities, improving engagement and delivering safer neighbourhoods where people have confidence in the police and their partners to deal with the issues that affect them directly.
	Building Communities, Beating Crime provided a vision of a police service that is both accessible and responsive to the needs of the citizen. Neighbourhood PolicingYour Police, Your Community, Our Commitment sets out the plans to deliver a neighbourhood policing team in every area by 2008. This guide will assist in making the vision and plans a reality.

Police: Stun Guns

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions Taser stun guns have been  (a) drawn,  (b) arced as a demonstration warning,  (c) applied in a drive stun and  (d) fired by each police force since 2003.

Tony McNulty: Five police forces in England and Wales started trialling the use of Taser in April 2003. In September 2004 my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary approved chief officers throughout England and Wales to deploy Taser to authorised firearms officers in their force where a firearms authority has been granted in accordance with criteria laid down in the ACPO Manual of Guidance on Police Use of Firearms.
	Since 20 July 2007 authorised police firearms officers in England and Wales have been able to deploy Taser in operations or incidents where the use of firearms is not authorised, but where they are facing violence or threats of violence of such severity that they would need to use force to protect the public, themselves or the subject. The deployment of Taser by specially trained police units who are not firearms officers, but who are facing similar threats of violence, is also being trialled in 10 police forces. The 12-month trial began on 1 September 2007.
	The use of Taser by police forces in England and Wales has been provided by the Association of Chief Police Officers and is shown in the following table. The figures in the table do not include uses by authorised firearms officers outside a firearms operation or in the trial by specially trained units. These figures have not yet been centrally collated and verified.
	
		
			  Force  Drawn/aimed/red -dot  Arced  Drive stunned  Fired  Total incidents when Taser 'used' 
			 Avon and Someset 3 1 0 8 12 
			 Bedfordshire 2 1 0 8 11 
			 Cambridgeshire 15 0 0 2 17 
			 Cheshire 4 2 0 6 12 
			 City of London 2 0 0 0 2 
			 Cleveland 27 0 1 20 48 
			 Cumbria 8 2 0 1 11 
			 Derbyshire 12 0 0 2 14 
			 Devon and Cornwall 0 1 0 9 10 
			 Dorset 26 3 2 15 46 
			 Durham 23 0 0 17 40 
			 Dyfed-Powys 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Essex 5 0 1 6 12 
			 Gloucester 10 0 0 7 17 
			 GMP 4 0 1 11 16 
			 Gwent 5 0 0 4 9 
			 Hampshire 0 0 0 8 8 
			 Hertfordshire 9 0 2 5 16 
			 Humberside 24 4 0 2 30 
			 Lancashire 15 0 1 11 27 
			 Leicestershire 0 3 0 0 3 
			 Lincolnshire* 11 3 1 6 21 
			 Kent 0 0 0 2 2 
			 Merseyside 22 1 1 6 30 
			 Metropolitan* 66 4 27 112 209 
			 Norfolk 2 0 1 6 9 
			 North Wales* 48 2 1 12 63 
			 North Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Northants* 8 0 0 5 13 
			 Northumbria 42 0 0 5 47 
			 Nottinghamshire 0 0 0 2 2 
			 South Wales 0 0 0 1 1 
			 South Yorkshire 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Staffordshire 37 2 0 2 41 
			 Suffolk 0 0 0 8 8 
			 Surrey 0 1 1 0 2 
			 Sussex 2 0 0 4 6 
			 Thames Valley* 5 0 1 5 11 
			 Warwickshire 0 0 0 0 0 
			 West Mercia 8 0 0 6 14 
			 West Midlands 18 0 1 22 41 
			 West Yorkshire 40 6 3 33 82 
			 Wiltshire 0 0 0 2 2 
			 Total 504 36 45 382 967 
			 * Denotes original trial force (includes data from April 2003)  Notes: 1. Table as at 16 November 2007 (England and Wales) 2. Only the highest level of 'use' during each incident is recorded (multiple uses during the same incident are only recorded once on this table)

Robbery

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many robberies there were in each police force area in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is given in the following tables:
	
		
			  Table 1: Recorded offences of robbery, 1997 
			   1997 
			 Avon and Somerset 1,562 
			 Bedfordshire 531 
			 British Transport Police  
			 Cambridgeshire 350 
			 Cheshire 319 
			 Cleveland 507 
			 Cumbria 101 
			 Derbyshire 396 
			 Devon and Cornwall 389 
			 Dorset 206 
			 Durham 142 
			 Dyfed-Powys 34 
			 Essex 438 
			 Gloucestershire 369 
			 Greater Manchester 6,296 
			 Gwent 156 
			 Hampshire 554 
			 Hertfordshire 289 
			 Humberside 757 
			 Kent 709 
			 Lancashire 845 
			 Leicestershire 880 
			 Lincolnshire 107 
			 London, City of 34 
			 Merseyside 2,141 
			 Metropolitan Police 27,386 
			 Norfolk 189 
			 Northamptonshire 415 
			 Northumbria 1,260 
			 North Wales 112 
			 North Yorkshire 198 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,145 
			 South Wales 509 
			 South Yorkshire 946 
			 Staffordshire 498 
			 Suffolk 141 
			 Surrey 192 
			 Sussex 681 
			 Thames Valley 1,256 
			 Warwickshire 146 
			 West Mercia 287 
			 West Midlands 6,737 
			 West Yorkshire 2,698 
			 Wiltshire 164 
			   
			 England and Wales 63,072 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Recorded offences of robbery, 1998-99 to 2001-02 
			   1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			 Avon and Somerset 1,831 2,381 2,765 4,889 
			 Bedfordshire 530 615 663 957 
			 British Transport Police n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Cambridgeshire 437 548 539 679 
			 Cheshire 397 466 486 472 
			 Cleveland 908 839 932 1,264 
			 Cumbria 119 90 94 143 
			 Derbyshire 504 584 773 1,029 
			 Devon and Cornwall 462 487 452 474 
			 Dorset 205 241 309 334 
			 Durham 172 236 231 284 
			 Dyfed-Powys 42 28 23 26 
			 Essex 523 626 700 920 
			 Gloucestershire 273 291 363 498 
			 Greater Manchester 7,632 8,634 9,918 11,027 
			 Gwent 173 216 244 215 
			 Hampshire 588 732 794 872 
			 Hertfordshire 250 420 508 678 
			 Humberside 839 950 999 1,190 
			 Kent 712 827 1,000 1,003 
			 Lancashire 981 1,058 1,224 1,608 
			 Leicestershire 967 1,023 1,067 1,167 
			 Lincolnshire 149 178 191 251 
			 London, City of 29 49 53 46 
			 Merseyside 2,484 2,663 2,405 3,155 
			 Metropolitan Police 26,330 36,317 40,992 53,547 
			 Norfolk 220 297 330 401 
			 Northamptonshire 443 481 604 877 
			 Northumbria 1,347 1,389 1,381 1,390 
			 North Wales 127 146 163 194 
			 North Yorkshire 170 212 186 291 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,312 1,768 2,050 2,725 
			 South Wales 511 519 460 595 
			 South Yorkshire 979 1,122 1,438 1,952 
			 Staffordshire 509 697 796 963 
			 Suffolk 140 223 177 289 
			 Surrey 171 224 456 519 
			 Sussex 939 1,020 1,241 1,250 
			 Thames Valley 1,327 1,659 2,147 2,894 
			 Warwickshire 170 224 252 370 
			 West Mercia 351 359 423 646 
			 West Midlands 7,315 10,092 11,351 13,322 
			 West Yorkshire 3,072 3,088 3,781 5,674 
			 Wiltshire 195 258 193 279 
			  
			 England and Wales 66,835 84,277 95,154 121,359 
			  
			 n/a = Not available.   Notes:  1. The coverage was extended and counting rules revised from 1998-99. Figures from that date are not directly comparable with those for 1997.  2. The data in this table are prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Recorded offences of robbery, 2002-03 to 2006-07 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Avon and Somerset 3,504 2,908 2,237 2,036 1,987 
			 Bedfordshire 997 993 1,028 1,317 1,248 
			 British Transport Police 2,242 2,542 2,037 2,166 1,953 
			 Cambridgeshire 906 786 634 562 733 
			 Cheshire 631 647 533 654 688 
			 Cleveland 1,434 1,355 898 715 576 
			 Cumbria 130 124 109 87 68 
			 Derbyshire 1,048 1,019 802 772 870 
			 Devon and Cornwall 710 562 541 566 649 
			 Dorset 437 445 342 255 190 
			 Durham 287 267 178 281 233 
			 Dyfed-Powys 40 54 41 40 47 
			 Essex 1,328 1,476 1,426 1,424 1,531 
			 Gloucestershire 521 541 384 476 394 
			 Greater Manchester 10,745 9,246 7,544 7,719 8,213 
			 Gwent 329 274 351 316 282 
			 Hampshire 966 1,040 948 1,078 1,212 
			 Hertfordshire 862 972 875 933 985 
			 Humberside 1,807 1,896 1,262 1,185 1,200 
			 Kent 1,242 1,172 1,195 1,351 1,403 
			 Lancashire 1,409 1,285 1,092 1,021 1,014 
			 Leicestershire 1,453 1,476 1,329 1,244 1,214 
			 Lincolnshire 307 304 243 229 230 
			 London, City of 45 50 42 39 41 
			 Merseyside 2,994 2,347 2,173 2,502 2,290 
			 Metropolitan Police 42,493 40,639 39,033 45,311 45,771 
			 Norfolk 579 459 324 301 359 
			 Northamptonshire 1,015 1,220 875 1,069 1,037 
			 Northumbria 1,442 1,223 1,176 1,070 1,055 
			 North Wales 224 201 149 150 134 
			 North Yorkshire 356 395 328 240 278 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,799 2,556 2,011 2,112 2,434 
			 South Wales 784 751 543 631 891 
			 South Yorkshire 2,112 1,400 1,131 1,258 1,594 
			 Staffordshire 900 909 777 766 758 
			 Suffolk 249 290 260 271 271 
			 Surrey 605 619 462 446 446 
			 Sussex 1,319 1,425 1,228 1,098 1,007 
			 Thames Valley 2,406 2,286 1,968 1,926 2,320 
			 Warwickshire 354 456 353 429 486 
			 West Mercia 728 689 531 453 581 
			 West Midlands 10,249 10,371 9,165 8,867 9,186 
			 West Yorkshire 4,947 3,738 2,196 2,531 3,148 
			 Wiltshire 336 328 256 301 363 
			   
			 England and Wales 110,271 103,736 91,010 98,198 101,370 
			  Note:  1. The data in this table take account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

Terrorism: Control Orders

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) males and  (b) females issued with control orders under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 have absconded, broken down by age group; and how many were subsequently re-captured in each year since the Act came into force.

Tony McNulty: I refer the hon. Gentleman to written ministerial statements in relation to control orders published on 11 December 2006, 16 January 2007, 22 March 2007, 24 May 2007, 21 June 2007 and 17 September 2007.

Terrorism: Convictions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many  (a) males and  (b) females were (i) prosecuted and (ii) convicted of terrorist-related offences in each of the last five years, broken down by age group;
	(2)  how many  (a) males and  (b) females who were (i) prosecuted and (ii) convicted of terrorist-related offences were resident in Southend in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: We do not collate this information in the format requested.
	Statistics compiled from police records show that between 11 September 2001 and 31 March 2007, 1,228 arrests were made under the Terrorism Act 2000 or under other legislation, where the investigation was conducted as a terrorist investigation. Of those charged 41 were convicted under the Terrorism Act and 183 under other legislation including conspiracy to murder.
	This information can be found on the Home Office website:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/security/terrorism-and-the-law/?view=Standard

Terrorism: Detainees

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2007,  Official Report, column 86W, on terrorism detainees, how many of the eight people detained and charged were charged with terrorism offences only.

Tony McNulty: All eight individuals were charged with terrorism-related offences. However, not all offences with which suspected terrorists may be charged are necessarily contained in the Terrorism Act. Many are charged with offences under other legislation such as the Firearms Act or the Explosives Substances Act. The breakdown of charges for the eight individuals is listed as follows:
	
		
			   Charge 
			 1. 1x Conspiracy to Murder (Sec 1(1) Criminal Law Act 1977) 
			  1x Preparation of Terrorist Acts (Sec 5 (1) TACT 2006) 
			   
			 2. 1x Preparation of Terrorist Acts (Sec 5 (1) TACT 2006) 
			  1x Possession of a Prohibited Weapon (Sec 5.1 Firearms Act 1968) 
			  1x Possession of ammunition (Sec 1.1b Firearms Act 1968) 
			  1x Possession of a silencer without a firearms licence (Sec 1.1b Firearms Act 1968) 
			   
			 3. 1x Having information about acts of terrorism (Sec 38b (1)(a) and (2) TACT 2000 
			   
			 4. 1 x Preparation of Terrorist Acts (Sec 5 (1) TACT 2006) 
			   
			 5. 1x Conspiracy to Murder (Sec 1 (1) Criminal Law Act 1977) 
			  1x Preparation of Terrorist Acts (Sec 5 (1) TACT 2006) 
			   
			 6. 1x Conspiracy to Murder (Sec 1 (1) Criminal Law Act 1977) 
			  1 x Preparation of Terrorist Acts (Sec 5 (1) TACT 2006) 
			   
			 7. 1x Attending a place for instruction or training in terrorism (Sec 8 TACT 2006) 
			  1x Collection of information for terrorism purposes (Sec 58 (1)(a) TACT 2000 
			   
			 8. 1x Conspiracy to cause explosions (Section 3 (1a) of the Explosives Substances Act 1883)

Terrorism: Detainees

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what international comparisons of detention without charge limits she has made between the UK and  (a) European,  (b) North American and  (c) Commonwealth countries; and if she will place the information in the Library.

Tony McNulty: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs published a document entitled Counter-Terrorism Legislation and Practice: A Survey of Selected Countries in October 2005. This can be found at: www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/QSpercent20Draftpercent2010percent20FINAL1.pdf. We remain informed on the counter-terrorism legislative systems of other countries.

Theft: Bicycles

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reported thefts of bicycles there were in  (a) England and  (b) each London borough in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The available information is given in the following tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: recorded offences of theft of a pedal cycle1997 
			   1997 
			 Barking and Dagenham n/a 
			 Barnet n/a 
			 Bexley n/a 
			 Brent n/a 
			 Bromley n/a 
			 Camden n/a 
			 City of Westminster n/a 
			 Croydon n/a 
			 Ealing n/a 
			 Enfield n/a 
			 Greenwich n/a 
			 Hackney n/a 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham n/a 
			 Haringey n/a 
			 Harrow n/a 
			 Havering n/a 
			 Hillingdon n/a 
			 Hounslow n/a 
			 Islington n/a 
			 Kensington and Chelsea n/a 
			 Kingston upon Thames n/a 
			 Lambeth n/a 
			 Lewisham n/a 
			 Merton n/a 
			 Newham n/a 
			 Redbridge n/a 
			 Richmond upon Thames n/a 
			 Southwark n/a 
			 Sutton n/a 
			 Tower Hamlets n/a 
			 Waltham Forest n/a 
			 Wandsworth n/a 
			 Total 17,276 
			   
			 Total London(1) 17,433 
			 Total England 134,401 
			 n/a = not available. (1) includes the City of London police and the Metropolitan police service. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Recorded offences of theft of a pedal cycle1998-99 to 2001-02 
			   1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			 Barking and Dagenham n/a n/a 165 123 
			 Barnet n/a n/a 215 210 
			 Bexley n/a n/a 201 154 
			 Brent n/a n/a 217 242 
			 Bromley n/a n/a 254 247 
			 Camden n/a n/a 1,007 1,072 
			 City of Westminster n/a n/a 1,076 1,148 
			 Croydon n/a n/a 287 275 
			 Ealing n/a n/a 502 452 
			 Enfield n/a n/a 225 203 
			 Greenwich n/a n/a 220 210 
			 Hackney n/a n/a 619 726 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham n/a n/a 1,010 1,006 
			 Haringey n/a n/a 225 168 
			 Harrow n/a n/a 100 132 
			 Havering n/a n/a 202 180 
			 Hillingdon n/a n/a 359 264 
			 Hounslow n/a n/a 571 473 
			 Islington n/a n/a 785 829 
			 Kensington and Chelsea n/a n/a 715 730 
			 Kingston upon Thames n/a n/a 409 392 
			 Lambeth n/a n/a 771 805 
			 Lewisham n/a n/a 233 188 
			 Merton n/a n/a 320 396 
			 Newham n/a n/a 283 232 
			 Redbridge n/a' n/a 156 159 
			 Richmond upon Thames n/a n/a 562 540 
			 Southwark n/a n/a 742 725 
			 Sutton n/a n/a 243 183 
			 Tower Hamlets n/a n/a 712 698 
			 Waltham Forest n/a n/a 196 193 
			 Wandsworth n/a n/a 883 978 
			 Total 17,092 18,659 14,465 14,333 
			  
			 Total London(1) 17,350 18,909 14,668 14,667 
			 Total England 124,074 126,748 104,789 99,041 
			 n/a = not available. (1) Includes the City of London police and the Metropolitan police service.  Notes: 1. The coverage was extended and counting rules revised from 1998-99. Figures from that date are not directly comparable with those for 1997. 2. The data in this table are prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: recorded offences  of theft of a pedal cycle 2002-03 to 2006-07 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Barking and Dagenham 120 170 215 220 174 
			 Barnet 218 374 341 398 247 
			 Bexley 116 139 144 133 115 
			 Brent 229 320 325 326 259 
			 Bromley 179 211 284 225 212 
			 Camden 1,347 1,491 1,337 1,521 1,329 
			 City of Westminster 1,165 1,226 1,347 1,453 1,277 
			 Croydon 240 262 294 325 264 
			 Ealing 467 617 571 584 448 
			 Enfield 186 195 214 226 179 
			 Greenwich 249 304 275 451 395 
			 Hackney 1,019 1,060 980 1,111 1,167 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,058 1,271 1,085 1,017 1,046 
			 Haringey 247 284 339 405 392 
			 Harrow 128 142 133 140 121 
			 Havering 143 198 181 178 130 
			 Hillingdon 264 275 251 367 247 
			 Hounslow 405 533 528 613 569 
			 Islington 1,140 1,898 1,745 1,821 1,682 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 834 858 877 919 758 
			 Kingston upon Thames 387 674 784 859 479 
			 Lambeth 785 943 952 1,196 1,022 
			 Lewisham 270 351 346 492 362 
			 Merton 360 507 503 530 320 
			 Newham 323 327 312 336 275 
			 Redbridge 122 168 141 203 168 
			 Richmond upon Thames 559 650 878 765 739 
			 Southwark 798 1,052 1,070 1,191 1,248 
			 Sutton 188 220 263 307 232 
			 Tower Hamlets 846 1,132 1,156 1,307 1,061 
			 Waltham Forest 176 180 227 271 366 
			 Wandsworth 1,237 1,226 1,217 1,346 1,357 
			 Total 15,805 19,258 19,315 21,236 18,640 
			   
			 Total London(1) 16,232 19,613 19,634 21,572 18,954 
			 Total England 91,589 98,961 98,860 105,778 102,485 
			 (1) includes the City of London police and the Metropolitan police service.  Note: The data in this table take account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

Tobacco: Young People

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) police cautions and  (b) fines were issued to (i) confectioners and tobacconists and (ii) other retailers selling tobacco products to those aged under 16 years in each year since 1997; what the average fine levied was in each year; and how many such offences were recorded in each year.

Tony McNulty: Information on the number of recorded offences of retailers selling tobacco products to those aged under 16 years is not collected centrally. This is a summary offence and is not included in the police recorded crime statistics.
	Statistics on the number of police cautions issued, the number of fines imposed and the average fines have been provided by the Ministry of Justice and are given in the table for 1997 to 2005. No information is collected centrally to distinguish between confectionists, tobacconists and other retailers. Data for 2006 are due for publication in late November.
	
		
			  Offenders( 1)  cautioned and fined for selling tobacco etc. to persons under 16( 2) 
			   Number of police cautions issued  Number of fines imposed  Average fine amount () 
			 1997 5 90 238 
			 1998  115 226 
			 1999 3 90 237 
			 2000 2 113 349 
			 2001 1 74 301 
			 2002 2 67 283 
			 2003  82 322 
			 2004  50 274 
			 2005 2 56 328 
			 (1) These data are on a principal offence basis. (2) Children and Young Persons Act 1933 section 7 as amended by the Children and Young Persons (Protection from Tobacco) Act 1991 section 1.  Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system.  Source: RDS-NOMS, Ministry of Justice.

West Yorkshire Police: Rescue Services

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the West Yorkshire Police Service has a duty to respond to water rescue; and if she will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: This is a matter for the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Land Mines

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in clearing the land area and area contaminated by mines and unexploded ordnance in Afghanistan in accordance with the Afghanistan Compact.

Shahid Malik: I have been asked to reply.
	Through the Afghanistan Compact and the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) the Government of Afghanistan is committed to
	'reducing the area of land contaminated by mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) by 70 per cent. by 2010'.
	Estimates at the end of May 2007 put total contaminated land in Afghanistan at 778 square kilometres. Despite a shortfall in funding for demining activities during 2006, 133 square kilometres of previously contaminated land was cleared. This exceeded the target set by the mine action programme for Afghanistan (MAPA) of 110 square kilometres of land to be cleared each year in order to meet the Compact benchmark. The Government of Afghanistan is confident in its ability to meet the target it has set for itself.
	The Government of Afghanistan was, however, unable to meet its international treaty (Ottawa convention) obligation on the destruction of stockpiled anti-personnel landmines by 1 March 2007. It has subsequently set out in the Afghanistan Compact to
	'destroy all remaining stockpiled anti-personnel mines by the end of 2007'
	and is confident that the two remaining stockpiles, located in the Panjshir Province, will be destroyed by this new deadline.

Afghanistan: Overseas Aid

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of UK aid to Afghanistan was channelled through  (a) the core budget of the Government of Afghanistan,  (b) UN-administered trust funds and  (c) UK administered projects in the latest period for which figures are available.

Shahid Malik: I have been asked to reply.
	76 per cent. of DFID's 2006-07 bilateral aid budget for Afghanistan was channelled through the core budget of the Government of Afghanistan.
	Less than 1 per cent. of DFID's 2006-07 bilateral aid budget for Afghanistan was channelled through UN-administered trust funds.
	The remainder, approximately 23 per cent. of DFID's 2006-07 bilateral aid budget for Afghanistan was channelled through UK administered projects.

Afghanistan: Reconstruction

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from the Afghan Government on improved international co-ordination of reconstruction and development assistance to Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Shahid Malik: I have been asked to reply.
	My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for International Development, discussed international co-ordination of reconstruction and development assistance with president Karzai during his visit to the UK in October. They discussed the Afghan National Development strategy (ANDS), due to be published in March 2008, and agreed that this strategy will encourage greater donor co-ordination. In addition, the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for International Development also discussed this issue with president Karzai and other representatives of the Government of Afghanistan during their visits to Afghanistan earlier this year.
	It is critical for Afghanistan's future development that the donor community co-ordinates its assistance in support of Afghan Government priorities. Co-ordination of international assistance and improved effectiveness of aid is a major objective of DFID's policy support to Afghanistan. This is why DFID Ministers and officials are regularly engaged in dialogue with the Government of Afghanistan on the development of the ANDS and the most appropriate way for the international community to support it. In recent weeks both the Afghan Minister of Education and the Deputy Minister of Finance have visited DFID and discussed this issue along with others.

Azerbaijan: Politics and Government

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the ability of  (a) opposition politicians,  (b) the media,  (c) members of the judiciary and  (d) other representatives of civil society in Azerbaijan to be able to operate free from Government interference or pressure; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: We have serious concerns on these issues and regularly raise them at all levels with the Government of Azerbaijan. The EU last reviewed progress on the EU European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan for Azerbaijan with members of the Government of Azerbaijan on 18 October 2007. The EU underlined the importance of the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as identifying further steps to strengthen democracy and media freedom.
	Despite some positive legislative reform, freedom of expression and freedom of the media has deteriorated significantly in the last two years. A number of journalists have been jailed under criminal libel laws that have restricted debate. Others have faced harassment and beatings. We have raised these issues and specific cases regularly with the authorities, most recently with the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
	The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and Council of Europe have identified a number of shortcomings in the judicial system. The Ministry of Justice has taken important steps to improve the training of judges, but there is still significant room for improvement.
	The political Opposition faces impediments to its ability to operate freely. Together with international partners, we have stressed to the Government of Azerbaijan how important it is that the forthcoming Presidential elections are held in full compliance with the commitments undertaken to the EU, OSCE/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and Council of Europe.

Azerbaijan: Prisoners

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of Azerbaijan on the prison conditions of  (a) Farhad Aliev and  (b) Rafig Aliev; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: As my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Mr. Hoo), then Minister for Europe stated in his reply to the hon. Member's question on this subject on 16 January 2007,  Official Report, column 991W, we reminded the Government of Azerbaijan of the need to respect the right of access to appropriate medical care, in light of concerns about Farhad Aliev's health. Through international bodies, including the EU and Council of Europe, we continue to raise our concerns about overall prison conditions with the Government of Azerbaijan. The authorities in Azerbaijan are working with international partners to make improvements to conditions and health care in their prisons. While improvements have been made, overall conditions remain a concern.

Belgium: Politics and Government

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Belgium.

Jim Murphy: Negotiations to form a new Government in Belgium continue, following elections earlier this year. We continue to work closely with the current Belgian Government and look forward to working with the new Government when negotiations are complete.

Bosnia: Sanctions

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the implementation of European Union sanctions on Bosnia and Herzegovina, with particular reference to the UK's compliance; what the total amount of assets frozen is by  (a) EU member states and  (b) the United Kingdom in line with these sanctions; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The UK is firmly committed to the full implementation of all EU sanctions, along with our EU partners.
	There are no EU financial sanctions imposed on Bosnia and Herzegovina. EU Common Position 2004/694/Common Foreign and Security Policy imposed an asset freeze on individuals indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. To date no funds have been identified in the UK.

British Overseas Territories: Nature Conservation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions the Government have had with authorities of each of the overseas territories on amendments to animal protection regulations; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not had specific discussions with the overseas territories on amendments to their animal protection regulations. Environmental issues within each overseas territory are the responsibility of the local government. The Overseas Territories Environment Programme has provided funding to Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands and Anguilla to update their more general environmental legislation, which includes animal protection legislation.

British Overseas Territories: Nature Conservation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government will be taking palliative action in relation to the effect of climate change on reef environments in Her Majesty's overseas territories.

Meg Munn: The Government are concerned about the effect that climate change is having on reef environments in the overseas territories, which account for approximately 2 per cent. of the world's coral. The United Kingdom chaired the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), a forum to discuss the protection and safeguarding of coral reefs from 2003 to 2005. The current chairs are Mexico and the USA. The next meeting of ICRI will take place in Washington in January 2008. Particular attention will be given to the protection of coral reefs in the Caribbean, including the overseas territories.
	The Overseas Territories Environment Programme, a joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development funded programme, identified mitigation of the effects of climate change as a priority for the overseas territories. Through this programme, we have funded a number of climate change-related projects including an ongoing study of the coral reefs in the British Indian Ocean Territories (BIOT) territorial waters. We have also funded the establishment of a coral reef identification guide for use by marine biologists.
	Regular scientific expeditions to BIOT to monitor the marine environment, including coral reefs, are undertaken by the BIOT environmental adviser from Warwick University.

British Overseas Territories: Nature Conservation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the Government have allocated to the United Kingdom Overseas Territories Conservation Forum; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not provide funding for the administration of the United Kingdom Overseas Territories Conservation Forum. Through the Overseas Territories Environment Programme, a joint FCO and Department for International Development (DFID) funded programme, we have provided funds to the United Kingdom Overseas Territories Conservation Forum to carry out specific projects. The FCO provided 68,502 to the United Kingdom Overseas Territories Conservation Forum for project activities in 2006-07. DFID has provided 81,706 so far this financial year for project activities.

Bulgaria: Children

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Bulgarian Government on the standard of care given to children in  (a) state institutions and  (b) adult institutions.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 22 November 2007
	The UK has actively supported Bulgaria in its efforts to improve standards of child care given to children in institutions, both during the country's accession negotiations and since it joined the EU. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has recently completed a project contributing to the introduction of inclusive education for children with special educational needs and from ethnic minorities.
	Much, however remains to be done. Our embassy in Sofia has raised the issue with the Bulgarian Prime Minister, Justice Minister and Minister of Labour and Social Policy and we remain in close touch with the authorities. We are pleased that they are harnessing EU funds to help speed up implementation of reforms in this area.
	The embassy is also in regular contact with members of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) community active in this field. Our staff are encouraging NGOs to work together and alongside the Bulgarian authorities, to help implement the necessary reforms. The Bulgarians have announced that they will direct 5 million of EU structural funds for 2008 to deal with this problem.

Burma: Mining

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government is taking to ensure that gems originally mined in Burma and processed in third countries will not be sold in the UK.

Jim Murphy: The UK played a key role securing EU agreement at the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) on 15 October to extend sanctions against Burma. These measures were formally adopted at the GAERC on 19 November, including the prohibition of the import of timber, metals, minerals and precious and semi-precious stones from Burma, and an investment ban in these sectors. The October GAERC made clear the EU stood ready to review, amend or reinforce these measures and requested relevant bodies to elaborate further restrictive measures.
	The regulation which will follow the adoption of the Common Position will address a number of points related to the implementation of the sanctions, including direct and indirect sales of precious and semi-precious stones from Burma. This will be negotiated in the coming weeks. The UK will press for the strictest possible implementation of the agreed sanctions.

CIC Material

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reason material referring to the CIC, redacted from a copy of a covering letter sent by his Department to the hon. Member for Billericay on 19 July was described as sensitive.

Kim Howells: In assessing our response to the hon. Member's request that I confirm that Lord Hutton was made aware of John Williams's document, made in his letter to me of 18 June, we redacted the reference to material used by John Williams in his drafting because it was not relevant to the request and because we wished to protect the process that Williams used.
	However in considering our response to the hon. Member's subsequent request for the release of this information we concluded that the public interest in releasing this information outweighed that in withholding it.

Departmental Catering

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of  (a) beef,  (b) lamb,  (c) pork and  (d) dairy products used in his departmental headquarters were imported products in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Jim Murphy: The percentage of imported beef, lamb, pork and dairy products used within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in the UK is as follows:
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 Beef 22 
			 Lamb 40 
			 Pork 38 
			 Dairy Products 10 
		
	
	The information in the table refers to the period August 2007 to October 2007, as this is the most recent for which figures are available.
	The procurement of FCO catering supplies is based on value for money, having due regard to propriety and regularity.

Departmental ICT

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which manufacturers' software is used in his Department.

Meg Munn: The information necessary to provide a comprehensive answer is not held centrally, as Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) departments are responsible for their own budgets; to collate the information requested by my hon. Friend would incur disproportionate cost.
	However, the providers of corporate software in use across the FCO network include Microsoft (desktop operating system and office automation), Oracle (financial and human resources), McAfee (anti-virus), Adobe (portable document reader), Citrix (web-based applications) and Hewlett-Packard, Sophos, Mailmarshall and Clearswift (network management).
	Many other software products are in use to meet specific functional needs in the UK and at posts overseas.

Departmental Manpower

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  how many reports have been made to his Department's nominated officers under paragraph 16 of the revised civil service code since its publication on 6 June 2006;
	(2)  how many allegations of victimisation for whistleblowing have been reported to his Department by departmental staff since 6 June 2006;
	(3)  when his Department's whistleblowing procedures were reviewed to reflect the provisions in the revised civil service code.

Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the reply the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) gave to him on 19 November 2007,  Official Report , columns 596-97W.

Departmental Official Hospitality

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what entertainment or hospitality members of his Department's management board received in each of the last three financial years; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: Paragraph 4.3.5 of the Civil Service Management Code sets out the rules on the registration of hospitality. The Government are committed to publishing an annual list of hospitality received by members of departmental boards. The first list for 2007 will be published as soon as it is ready after the end of the current calendar year.
	For previous years the information requested is not held centrally, but all Foreign and Commonwealth Office Board members are clear that all hospitality accepted must adhere to Diplomatic Service Regulations No. 4 which follows paragraph 4.3.5 of the Civil Service Management Code.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department and its agencies spent on managing their corporate identities in the last 12 month period for which figures are available.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not record expenditure on managing its corporate identity as an identifiable activity. This information could be obtained only by examining individual invoices and this could be done only at disproportionate cost. This also applies to the expenditure of the Department's agencies, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Services and Wilton Park.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department and its agencies spent on managing their corporate identities in the last 12 month period for which figures are available.

Shahid Malik: I have been asked to reply.
	The last 12 month period for which figures are available is October 2006-07. Management of the DFID corporate identity is a minor, routine function of the campaigns and marketing team, with no staff or budget dedicated to this activity.
	The only specific amount spent between October 2006-07 was 389.34, used to purchase the intellectual property rights for the DFID emergency aid logo.

Departmental Publicity

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much has been spent by his Department on advertising in the last 12 months.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not keep a central record of amounts spent on advertising. The information required to answer this question could be obtained only by requiring individual budget holders in the FCO to examine all invoices for the last 12 months. This would incur disproportionate cost.
	Expenditure on recruitment advertising makes up a large part of the Department's overall expenditure on advertising. For details of expenditure on recruitment advertising in 2006-07, and preceding financial years, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Mr. Hoon), then Minister for Europe (Mr. Hoon) to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) on 19 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1605W.

Departmental Recruitment

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people aged  (a) 30 to 39,  (b) 40 to 49,  (c) 50 to 59 and  (d) 60 to 69 years have (i) applied for jobs, (ii) received interviews and (iii) gained (A) temporary and (B) permanent jobs in his Department in 2007.

Jim Murphy: Recruitment in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is split into two specific areasvolume recruitment (jobs in generalist grades, such as administrative assistant, administrative officer and operational officer); specialist recruitment (jobs which require specific skills or expertise such as researchers, legal advisers, accountants). This area also includes temporary recruitment (short-term contracts for work on specific projects). Figures on those recruited into each area are provided as follows:
	
		
			  Volume recruitment 
			  Age band  Applied  Interviewed  Temporary Employment  Permanent Employment 
			  Al Administrative Assistants
			 30-39 386 52 0 24 
			 40-49 101 29 0 8 
			 50-59 86 16 0 6 
			 60-69 7 0 0 0 
			  
			  A2 Administrative Officers
			 30-39 262 21 0 10 
			 40-49 131 4 0 2 
			 50-59 29 2 0 0 
			 60-69 0 0 0 0 
			  
			  B3 Operational Officers
			 30-39 1,551 57 0 13 
			 40-49 655 6 0 5 
			 50-59 132 1 0 0 
			 60-69 12 0 0 0 
			  Note: Figures include applications/interviews from campaigns spanning 2006-07. 
		
	
	
		
			  Specialist Recruitment 
			  Age band  Interviewed  Temporary employment  Permanent employment 
			 30-39 29 1 2 
			 40-49 29 13 8 
			 50-59 17 0 3 
			 60-69 3 14 0 
			 70+ n/a 4 0 
			  Notes: 1. For specialist recruitment campaigns, data are currently only available from interview or assessment onwards. 2. For fixed term contracts of less than one year's duration, appointees are not required to go through a full application and interview processthis explains the figures in the 60-69 and 70+ groups. 
		
	
	
		
			  Fast stream 
			  Age band  Assessment centre  Interviewed  Permanent employment 
			 30-39 3 1 1 
			 40-49 0 0 0 
			 50-59 0 0 0 
			 60-69 0 0 0 
			 70+ 0 0 0 
			  Note:  Fast stream data only take into consideration the stages of selection administered by the FCO. The Cabinet Office runs the selection processes prior to this, however statistics are not yet available for the 2007 cohort.

Departmental Written Questions

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is his Department's practice to attach to Written Answers hard copies of earlier replies cited in such Answers where these were previously given to hon. Members other than the hon. Member to whom the Answer is addressed.

Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House of Commons gave to him today (UIN 168300).

Entry Clearances: Biometrics

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether foreign nationals with visas containing biometric data will be required also to obtain an identity card.

Kim Howells: From next year, we will incrementally require all foreign nationals, who are subject to immigration control and in the UK for over six months, to apply for an identity card (Biometric Immigration Document). This will eventually include applicants applying for further leave to remain in the UK, who have previously been issued with a biometrically enabled visa.

Eritrea and Ethiopia: Relations

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia on stability in the Horn of Africa.

Jim Murphy: The Government continue to be concerned by the potential for relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia to affect stability in the horn of Africa. Crucially, the dispute over their mutual border remains unresolved.
	Tension on the border is rising with more forces being deployed by both sides. We are monitoring the situation closely and urging maximum restraint by both sides and a de-escalation of their military build-up.
	We are also urging both sides to agree a way forward which will allow demarcation of the border to proceed to the normalisation of their relations.

European Union

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many EU flags are  (a) held and  (b) owned by his Department and its agencies.

Meg Munn: The number of EU flags (various sizes) purchased, held and owned by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office since January 2005 is 105.

Foreign Workers: Conditions of Employment

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures are in place to protect domestic workers of foreign diplomats in the UK from potential exploitation.

Meg Munn: Private servants that work for foreign diplomats in the UK are protected from potential exploitation by UK law. We expect foreign diplomats to obey our laws and regulations and take seriously any alleged violation by those entitled to immunity. We would take appropriate action if any allegations of exploitation were to be brought to our attention.
	Private servants of foreign diplomats that are recruited from overseas are also protected from potential exploitation by our entry clearance rules. These aim to ensure that foreign diplomats provide written confirmation of the terms and conditions of their workers' employment, together with a separate undertaking that their workers will be adequately maintained and accommodated. Private servants are also given details of where they can find out about their rights under the UK's criminal and employment laws.

France: Overseas Residence

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect on UK citizens living in France of the French Government's decision to alter the healthcare arrangements for non-French nationals below the official relevant age; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 22 November 2007
	 I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Minister of State, Department of Health my right hon. Friend the Member for Bristol, South (Dawn Primarolo) to the hon. Member for South-West Devon (Mr. Streeter) on 12 November 2007,  Official Report, column 59W.
	I raised this issue with the French Minister for Europe, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, during my visit to Paris on 15 November. Monsieur Jouyet acknowledged the serious concern about the effect of this decision and agreed to ask his colleagues to look again at the matter.
	Our embassy in Paris will also continue to follow the issue closely. It has posted information on its website for those who could be affected.

Gough Island and Tristanda Cunha: Nature Conservation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to protect the native sea bird population on Gough Island.  [Official Report, 6 December 2007, Vol. 468, c. 10MC.]

Meg Munn: Rats and mice have been identified as the main predators of seabirds on Gough Island. The Overseas Territories Environment Programme, a joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development funded programme, provided 54,954 for the period 2005-07 to the Tristan da Cunha Administration, with technical support being provided by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, to assess the potential for the eradication of these rodents from Gough Island.

Gough Island and Tristanda Cunha: Nature Conservation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance the Government has offered Tristan da Cunha to tackle verminous rodents.

Meg Munn: The Overseas Territories Environment Programme, a joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development funded programme, provided 54,954 for the period 2005-07 to the Tristan da Cunha Administration to carry out a feasibility study, with technical support from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, on the eradication of introduced rats from Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island. The study will provide costed options for consideration by the local community.

Iran: Negotiations

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what forms of EU-Iran dialogue are under way; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The only formal EU-Iran dialogue is the human rights dialogue which was established in 2002 and has been suspended since June 2004. This dialogue yielded limited results, and in its absence, EU member states continue to raise human rights issues with the Iranians both as the EU, and bilaterally.
	The EU's High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, has an important role with regard to the Iranian nuclear issue, on which he negotiates with Iran on behalf of the E3+3.

Iran: Politics and Government

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Iran.

Kim Howells: The political establishment in Iran is preparing for the next Majlis (parliamentary) elections on 14 March 2008. Candidates will need to register by early January, and they will be vetted by the Guardian Council (which can veto candidates it considers contrary to the interests of the Islamic Republic) six to seven weeks before the election date. In the last round of parliamentary elections, the Guardian Council vetoed the candidacies of more than a third of the 8,000 candidates, most of whom were reformists, and 85 of who were incumbent MPs. We are concerned that this may happen againthe Guardian Council has appointed hardliners to the election monitoring panel and reformists appear to be being discouraged from standing.
	A key issue in the election is likely to be the economy, especially inflation, where estimates range from the official Iranian figures of around 12 per cent. to independent Iranian estimates of almost twice that. Within this, housing, foodstuffs and medicines have all been subject to above average price growth, making life harder for ordinary Iranians. Iran's increased isolation, and the possibility of further multilateral sanctions as a result of Iran's refusal to abide by its obligations on its nuclear programme, are also having an impact on international investment in and trade with Iran.
	We are concerned by the continued clampdown on internal opposition, which has been going on for several months but appears to be intensifying in the run up to the election campaignincluding, most recently, the arrests of three women affiliated with the Campaign For Equality, which is seeking to end legislation which discriminates against women. This is taking place against the backdrop of a wider deterioration in the human rights environment, including an increase in executions (close to 250 executions this year, compared to 177 for the whole of 2006), including multiple executions (eight reported cases of multiple executions since 22 July this year) and the execution of juveniles (three confirmed cases this year).

Iran: Weapons

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely effect on Iranian weapons procurement of the proposed US arms package for states neighbouring or near to Iran.

Kim Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not made an assessment of the impact of any US decisions on Iranian conventional weapons procurement.

Iraq: Politics and Government

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Iraq.

Kim Howells: It is vital that Iraq's political leaders take advantage of recent improvements in the security situation to make substantive progress in the political process. We continue to press Iraq's political leaders to move the reconciliation process forward through the completion of a thoroughgoing and broadly supported constitutional review and early passage of legislation key to this process, such as that on de-Ba'athification, provincial powers, elections, hydrocarbons and revenue sharing.
	We welcome the agreements reached by Iraqi political leaders on some of these contentious issues in August and urge them to follow through on the commitments made.

Japan: Whales

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Japanese counterpart on Japanese resumption of whaling.

Meg Munn: There have been no recent discussions between my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and Japanese Ministers on this issue.
	The UK has consistently criticised Japan for her lethal whaling operations that are authorised under special permits (so called scientific whaling) and has urged Japan to end its scientific whaling activities.
	The Government are deeply concerned at the latest Japanese proposals which include a plan to take 50 Humpback whales. In response, we are considering a high level diplomatic protest to the Japanese Government, following consultation with like-minded anti-whaling countries.

Lebanon: Overseas Aid

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions his Department has had with the Lebanese Government on emergency aid and reconstruction relief to those displaced by fighting in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp.

Shahid Malik: I have been asked to reply.
	The UK Government engage with the Lebanese Government through the British embassy in Beirut. The embassy has regular discussions with the Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee, in the Prime Minister's Office, which is responsible for co-ordinating relief efforts and also with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian Refugees, which oversee reconstruction relief. Her Majesty's ambassador to Lebanon visited Nah al-Bared camp on 6 November 2007.
	DFID does not have a bilateral programme or presence in Lebanon. This is consistent with the UK's policy to increasingly support middle income countries through multinational organisations such as the World Bank and the European Commission. However, DFID is providing UNRWA with long term financial support (100 million) up to 2011 to help them address problems facing Palestinian communities in Lebanon and elsewhere. We are also providing almost 1 million to the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) for the clearance of unexploded ordnance in Lebanon.

Lebanon: Sanctions

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the implementation of European Union sanctions on Lebanon, with particular reference to the UK's compliance; what the total amount of assets frozen is by  (a) EU member states and  (b) the United Kingdom in line with these sanctions; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The UK is firmly committed to the full implementation of all EU sanctions, along with our EU partners.
	There are no EU financial sanctions imposed on Lebanon. EU Common Position 2005/888/Common Foreign and Security Policy, inter alia, places an asset freeze on those suspected of involvement in the murder of the former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafiq Hariri. This Common Position implements UN Sanctions and to date no individuals have been targeted for the assets freeze by the UN. Consequently the UK has not frozen any assets.

Liberia: Sanctions

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the implementation of European Union sanctions on Liberia, with particular reference to the UK's compliance; what the total amount of assets frozen is by  (a) EU member states and  (b) the United Kingdom in line with these sanctions; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The UK is firmly committed to the full implementation of all EU sanctions, along with our EU partners.
	EU member states do not systematically share detailed information concerning the value of funds they have identified and frozen. However, they are legally obliged to freeze all funds and economic resources belonging to persons listed under the sanctions regime. It is prohibited to make funds or economic resources available, directly or indirectly, to these persons.
	The reported balance of UK frozen funds in relation to UN and EU sanctions on Liberia amounts to 266,181.46 and 1,227.00 in euros.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Mr. Blair's speech to the Al Smith Memorial Dinner on 19 October 2007 reflects Quartet policy on Iran; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The role of the Quartet is to support the Middle East Peace Process. It does not have a formal policy towards Iran. However, the Quartet has said that it supports the efforts of responsible regional states to help calm the situation, and will continue to promote a negotiated, comprehensive, just and lasting Middle East peace in line with relevant UN Security Council Resolutions. It has urged all states in the region to work closely with Mr. Blair to this end and encouraged robust international support for his efforts.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what preparations have been made for the non-proliferation treaty review conference talks in 2010, what role he expects the European Union will play in these talks; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The United Kingdom strongly supports the European Union's Common Position of strengthening the three key pillarsnon-proliferation, disarmament and peaceful use of nuclear technologyof the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT). EU member states played an important role in the positive outcome to this year's NPT Preparatory Committee. We will continue to work closely with European Union partners to achieve success in the new non-proliferation treaty (NPT) review cycle.

Pakistan: Politics and Government

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what conclusions were reached at the 12 November Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on the situation in  (a) Pakistan and  (b) Zimbabwe; and what action was agreed in each case.

David Miliband: The Commonwealth Secretariat issued a statement following the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) meeting on 12 November. The full text is available at:
	http://www.thecommonwealth.org:/press/31555/172244/121107cmag.htm
	My noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, the right hon. Lord Malloch-Brown, represented the UK at the meeting.
	Zimbabwe is no longer in the Commonwealth, and was therefore not discussed.

Pakistan: Terrorism

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of UK financial assistance to Pakistan is for counter-terrorism purposes; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Mr. Moore) on 20 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 743-44W and the reply my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development gave to the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk on 19 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 533-34W. The total planned expenditure on UK co-operation with Pakistan in 2007-08 is 111.7 million of which 2.3 million (2 per cent.) is for counter- terrorism programmes funded through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Global Opportunities Fund.

Redundancy Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 3 September 2007,  Official Report, column 1584W, on redundancy pay, how much was spent by his Department on voluntary redundancy payments in the last 12 months.

Meg Munn: Between November 2006 and October 2007 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spent 1,749,531 on voluntary redundancy payments. These departures formed part of a restructuring programme to enable FCO Services, an Executive Agency of the FCO, to operate successfully as a Trading Fund from April 2008.

Somalia: Politics and Government

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had on the situation in Somalia; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The Government monitor the situation in Somalia very closely and raises issues with international interlocutors on a regular basis. Most recently my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and my noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, Lord Malloch-Brown, discussed Somalia with the Ethiopian Foreign Minister during their meeting on 13 November 2007.
	The Government are very concerned by the current situation in Somalia. We are working hard with our international partners, through the EU, the UN and the International Contact Group, to help Somalia address its very difficult circumstances. The three strands of our policy cover political, security and humanitarian issues. By pursuing each of these areas in parallel, we hope to help Somalia leave violent conflict behind and develop, in time, to its full potential.

Spain: Repatriation

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what regulations apply to the  (a) return and  (b) treatment of the bodies of deceased UK citizens from Spain.

Meg Munn: The transport and treatment of bodies within Spain and authority for their transfer out of the country is a matter for the Spanish regional health authorities.

Sudan: Frontiers

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Sudan on its rejection of the findings of the Abyei Boundary Commission report.

Jim Murphy: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not raised the Abyei Boundary Commission report with the Government of Sudan. However, the Abyei boundary dispute is a key issue for continued progress on implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). My right hon. Friends the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for International Development and my noble Friend the Minister of State for Africa, Asia and the UN Lord Malloch-Brown, have all raised CPA implementation including Abyei, in their contacts with the Government of Sudan.

Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress has been made on establishing peace in Darfur.

Meg Munn: The start of new political talks in Libya on 27 October, and the announcement of a cessation of hostilities by the Government of Sudan, were welcome steps towards ending the conflict in Darfur. We support the African Union (AU) and UN current efforts to encourage the rebel movements to agree a common platform and for all groups to take part in formal negotiations. Only a political process can provide a sustainable solution to the Darfur conflict.
	But the people of Darfur continue to suffer violence. We are pressing for the prompt and effective deployment of the UN-AU hybrid force in Darfur, as mandated by UN Security Council Resolution 1769, to restore security on the ground. We have agreed with other donors to set up the Darfur Community Peace and Stability Fund, to support recovery activities at community level where leaders deliver security on the ground and allow foil humanitarian access.
	The situation in Darfur remains complex. We are working with international partners to keep the focus on these issues.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries have pledged troops to the UNAMID peacekeeping operation in Darfur; and how many troops each has pledged.

David Miliband: The African Union (AU)-UN hybrid peacekeeping force in Darfur (UNAMID), mandated by UN Security Council Resolution 1769 of 31 July 2007, will consist of approximately 19,500 troops and a 6,500-strong civilian police component. The UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) has the task of generating the force in consultation with the AU. This particular force generation is complex and requires multilateral negotiations with potential contributing countries. The UN Secretary-General, in his report on UNAMID deployment of 5 November 2007, noted that the DPKO has received contributions from a number of countries to cover most of the military capabilities required for UNAMID, but critical shortfalls on helicopters and ground transport remain. The DPKO is now conducting pre-deployment assessments before confirming final troop contributions. We are pressing the DPKO, the AU and the Government of Sudan for the prompt and effective deployment of the UNAMID force.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the work of the Assessment and Evaluation Commission tasked with monitoring and enforcing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan.

Jim Murphy: The Assessment and Evaluation Commission (AEC) has made progress as a forum for dialogue on issues of contention between the parties to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). It published on 3 November the Factual Report on the Status of the CPA Implementation and has opened offices in both Khartoum and Juba. The AEC's effectiveness is ultimately dependent on the National Congress Party and Sudan People's Liberation Movement's willingness to co-operate. The recent political impasse within the Government of National Unity over delays in implementing the CPA demonstrates their difficulties in reaching consensus on key CPA issues.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what  (a) financial support,  (b) personnel and  (c) equipment his Department has provided to the Assessment and Evaluation Commission tasked with monitoring and enforcing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan.

Jim Murphy: At present, we do not provide financial support or equipment to the Assessment and Evaluation Committee (AEC)most support is provided by the US and Norway. However, representatives from our embassy in Khartoum attend AEC plenary meetings, and currently chair the AEC's security sub-committee.

Syria: Sanctions

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the implementation of European Union sanctions on Syria, with particular reference to the UK's compliance; what the total amount of assets frozen is by  (a) EU member states and  (b) the United Kingdom in line with these sanctions; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The UK is firmly committed to the full implementation of all EU sanctions, along with our EU partners.
	There are no EU financial sanctions imposed on Syria. EU Common Position 2005/888/Common Foreign and Security Policy, inter alia, places an asset freeze on those suspected of involvement in the murder of the former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafiq Hariri. This Common Position implements UN Sanctions and to date no individuals have been targeted for the assets freeze by the UN. Consequently the UK has not frozen any assets.

Terrorism: East Africa

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the threat posed to the UK by terrorist factions in East Africa, with particular reference to Somalia.

David Miliband: Al-Qaeda and its local affiliates have a long history of terrorist activity in East Africa, from the Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam bombings of 1998 through to more recent activity in Somalia. Al-Qaeda has exploited the absence of an effective government in Somalia to use the country as a base for both terrorist training and planning. This threat is mainly focused on the region, but is sometimes directed against the UK. The UK is home to a small number of extremists of East African origin, as the failed 21 July 2005 attacks in London demonstrated.
	The UK's policy is to return peace, stability and governance to Somalia. We, with our international partners, are supporting the Transitional Federal Institutions, established by the Transitional Federal Charter. This envisages elections at the end of the transitional period in order to establish a democratically elected government in Somalia. Resolving the instability and lack of governance in Somalia through this mechanism will help counter the terrorist threat in the country.

Terrorism: Sanctions

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the implementation of European Union sanctions on designated terrorist groups, with particular reference to the UK's compliance; what the total amount of assets frozen is by  (a) EU member states and  (b) the United Kingdom in line with these sanctions; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The UK is firmly committed to the full implementation of all EU sanctions, along with our EU partners.
	EU member states do not systematically share detailed information concerning the value of funds they have identified and frozen. However, they are legally obliged to freeze all funds and economic resources belonging to persons and entities listed under the sanctions regime. It is prohibited to make funds or economic resources available, directly or indirectly, to these persons and entities.
	The reported balance of UK frozen funds in relation to UN and EU terrorist sanctions amounts to 457,768.23 and US$58,123.07.

Uganda: Human Rights

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the threat by Uganda State House militia Commander Major Kakooza Mutale to kill anyone who opposes President Museveni; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: I have received no reports of threats by any member of the Uganda State House militia against opponents of President Museveni. Our high commission in Kampala closely monitors the internal political situation in Uganda and regularly presses the Ugandan Government to respect the rights of the Opposition.
	Ministers have also raised governance issues with the Ugandan Government, notably during Foreign Minister Kutesa's visit to the UK in September.

Western Sahara: Asylum

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government plans to take in response to the human rights situation of Western Saharawi refugees in the Tindouf camps and the actions of the Moroccan Government.

Kim Howells: The UK is concerned about the welfare of the people of Western Sahara. We have set out our concerns about human rights and the humanitarian situation in the region in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's 2006 Annual Human Rights Report, which is available at:
	www.fco.gov.uk.
	We have raised human rights issues with Morocco. We continue to support ongoing confidence building measures for the region, such as establishing a regular telephone and mail service between Tindouf and the territory, and family visits between the territory and the camps.
	The UK remains concerned that the issue of the status of Western Sahara remains unresolved, with consequent problems for the people of the region. The UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1783 on 31 October, which renewed the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara until 30 April 2008. The resolution also calls upon the parties to continue negotiations under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General without preconditions and in good faith. The UK fully supports these negotiations, with a view to achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.

Western Sahara: Asylum

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to support a census to establish the number of Western Saharawi refugees.

Kim Howells: It remains part of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara's (MINURSO) mandate to identify and register qualified voters to take part in any referendum. The UK is concerned that the issue of the status of Western Sahara remains unresolved, with consequent problems for the people of the region. The UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1783 on 31 October, which renewed the mandate of MINURSO until 30 April 2008.
	The resolution also calls upon the parties to continue negotiations under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General without preconditions and in good faith. It is the UK's policy to fully support these negotiations, and the work of the Secretary-General and his Special Envoy, Peter van Walsum, with a view to achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.
	The UK has provided over 200,000 to the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Organisation to provide food aid to Western Saharan refugees currently living in refugee camps.

Zimbabwe: Banks

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the lending activities of British banks in Zimbabwe; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The activities of banks incorporated in Britain and operating in Zimbabwe are subject to EU regulations. We take very seriously any allegation of a breach of article 6 of Regulation 314/2004 and will always investigate. We are determined to see that EU sanctions are properly enforced.

Zimbabwe: Overseas Aid

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what options he is considering for assistance to Zimbabwe in the event of a change of Government in that country.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 22 November 2007
	 My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has said that Britain will contribute its share to supporting recovery in Zimbabwe but only when significant policy and administrative reforms are implemented within Zimbabwe. We are working with key partners in the international donor community and multilateral institutions to develop a co-ordinated approach to that assistance. Our focus would include support for stabilising the economy and moving towards sustainable recovery.

HEALTH

18 Weeks Programme

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the National Implementation Director of his Department's 18 weeks programme has spent on  (a) travel and  (b) other expenses in the last 12 months.

Ben Bradshaw: The following table sets out the amount spent on travel and other expenses by the National Implementation Director for 18 weeks in the 12 months to October 2007.
	
		
			
			 Travel 9,156 
			 Other expenses 5,082 
			 Total 14,238 
		
	
	The National Implementation Director for 18 Weeks has spoken at or participated in 139 national, regional and local events over this period.

18 Weeks Programme

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff work for the National Implementation Director of his Department's 18 weeks programme, broken down by pay band.

Ben Bradshaw: Three people report directly to the National Implementation Director. These are Head of Service Transformation, Orthopaedics Programme Manager and a personal assistant.
	Their Agenda for Change paybands are band 8D, band 8D and band 6 respectively.

18 Weeks Programme

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when changes have been made to the methods of measurement of his Department's target that patients should wait no more than 18 weeks for treatment since the target was announced; and what the  (a) date of and  (b) reason for the change was in each case.

Ben Bradshaw: No changes have been made to the methods of measurement of the target that by December 2008, no-one will have to wait more than 18 weeks from the time they are referred by their general practitioner for hospital treatment.

18 Weeks Programme

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what percentage of cases his Department's target that patients should wait no more than 18 weeks for treatment will apply; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: An operational tolerance is needed to account for when it would be clinically inappropriate to treat patients or where patients choose to wait longer than 18 weeks from referral.
	The Department is currently considering the tolerance level needed to reflect this. The operational tolerance will be confirmed in the NHS Operating Framework for 2008-09.
	Latest figures show that seven out of 10 patients are already being treated in 18 weeks or less. The NHS is making good progress towards effectively ending waiting next year.

18 Weeks Programme

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations his Department has received expressing concern about meeting the 18 week waiting time target.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department receives a wide range of written and other representations on issues relating to 18 weeks. Information on the number of representations specifically expressing concern about meeting the target could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the evidential basis was for the statement made by the Minister for Public Health to the Science and Technology Committee on 24 October that the Abortion Act 1967 did not require further amendment at the present time; whom she consulted before making this statement; what recent representations he has received on this statement from  (a) hon. Members,  (b) Members of the House of Lords and  (c) members of the public; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Departmental officials working in this area constantly review scientific evidence which might affect the science that underpins the Abortion Act 1967, as amended. As part of this ongoing work officials reviewed all of the evidence submitted to the Science and Technology Committee inquiry into scientific developments relating to the Abortion Act 1967 and agreed with the consensus of opinion which was that there was no new scientific evidence that warranted a change to the Act.
	The Royal Colleges and Professional Bodies, including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the British Medical Association, which the Department and the Government look to for advice submitted evidence to the Committee outlining their views, therefore no wider consultation was necessary.
	Since 24 October we have received one representation in the form of an oral parliamentary question from hon. Members; no direct representations from the House of Lords and 84 letters on abortion issues in general from members of the public.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 6 April 2005,  Official Report, column 1538W, on accident and emergency departments, what recent assessment he has made of the trend in attendances at type one accident and emergency departments; and what effect  (a) better reporting,  (b) increased satisfaction with accident and emergency services and  (c) any other factors have on this trend.

Ben Bradshaw: Data show that there were 13.6 million attendances in 2006-07 at type 1 accident and emergency departments, a 0.4 per cent. increase since 2005-06.
	The assessment referred to in the previous answer has not been repeated.

Alcoholic Drinks: Labelling

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with other European Union member states on alcohol warning labels; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Committee on National Policy and Action is part of the implementation structure for the European Union Alcohol Strategy. It met in Luxembourg on 5 November.
	The Committee heard a presentation by the representative of Finland about its recent notification to the Commission stating an intention to legislate for a warning label in both Finnish and Swedish for alcohol products marketed in Finland.
	The United Kingdom representative described the voluntary agreement made with the UK alcohol industry in May 2007 for the inclusion of information on labels relating to alcohol unit content and guidelines on sensible daily consumption, along with advice on alcohol and pregnancy; and argued for an approach which provides information to consumers on alcohol unit content and sensible daily consumption, rather than generalised warnings about alcohol.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many alcohol-attributable hospital admissions there were  (a) in each London borough and  (b) in the Greater London area (i) in each of the last four financial years and (ii) in 2007-08;
	(2)  how many alcohol-attributable  (a) routine hospital admissions and  (b) accident and emergency admissions there were (i) in each London borough and (ii) in the Greater London area in (A) each of the last four financial years and (B) 2007-08.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested has been placed in the Library. Data for 2007-08 are not yet available.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect on public health of low pricing of bulk purchase alcohol in supermarkets.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department is commissioning an independent review of the evidence on the relationship between alcohol price, promotion and harm. Among other things, this will consider the evidence on the effects of low pricing of alcohol and the promotion of this by supermarkets.

Atkinson Morley Hospital

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total expenditure incurred by NHS Estates was in the disposal of the Atkinson Morley hospital.

Ben Bradshaw: This property was owned by St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust, and was sold by the Trust, not NHS Estates. London Strategic Health Authority has advised that the total expenditure incurred through the sale of the Atkinson Morley hospital was 1.5 million.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust: Finance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect on the financial position of Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust of the private finance initiative agreement used to finance the development of Queen's Hospital, Romford.

Ben Bradshaw: The Full Business Case (FBC) for Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust's private finance initiative (PFI) scheme was approved by the Department and HM Treasury in 2003. To be approved, an FBC must demonstrate that the private finance option is affordable to the local health economy (i.e. national health service trusts and primary care trusts as commissioners) and value for money when compared with the public capital funded alternative.
	PFI unitary payments are just one component of an NHS trust's expenditure.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust: Finance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the financial position of Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust is.

Ben Bradshaw: Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust is forecasting a year end deficit of 14.3 million at quarter 1 2007-08.
	As a result of the Department introducing the new loans system in 2006-07, there are 17 national health service trusts, where the financial challenges are such that the Department either could not give a loan because the trusts could not afford to meet the repayments, or where a loan was agreed, but the amount is very large and could only be repaid over a very extended time scale.
	Departmental officials have worked in partnership with strategic health authorities (SHAs) on a review process to identify long term solutions for the 17 NHS trusts, Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust being one of them. The results of this recently completed review process are now being discussed with the SHAs and solutions are being prepared in the context of the Operating Framework for 2008-09.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust: Nurses

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many positions exist for nurses in Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust.

Ben Bradshaw: This information is not held in the format requested.
	There were 28 vacancies which had been advertised for three months or more for qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff in the Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust region as at 31 March 2007. This equates to a vacancy of 1.5 per cent.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust: Public Appointments

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in appointing a chief executive for Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust.

Ben Bradshaw: John Goulston has been acting as Interim Chief Executive of Barking, Havering and Redbridge hospitals NHS trust since 15 October 2007. We are informed that his six month contract contains the option to extend his stay to nine months, and that the Chief Executive post will be advertised within this time period.

Biologics

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much each strategic health authority spent on biologics in each of the last three years.

Dawn Primarolo: To provide the information requested would involve a bespoke data collection and analysis exercise that could be carried out only at disproportionate cost, as there are over 1,400 preparations, which can be considered to be 'biologics'.

Broomfield Hospital: Cleaning Services

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the Patient Environment Action Team scores for cleanliness were in the Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The following table shows the national health service's Patient Environment Action Team assessments for levels of cleanliness at Broomfield Hospital from 2001.
	
		
			   Levels of cleanliness 
			 2001 Amber 
			 2002 Amber 
			 2003 Green 
			 2004 Acceptable 
			 2005 Good 
			 2006 Good 
			 2007 Acceptable 
			  Notes: 1. From 2001-03 the scale was Green, Amber, RedGreen = good, amber = acceptable. 2. From 2004 onwards the scale changed to a 5-point one of Excellent, Good, Acceptable, Poor, Unacceptable. 3. Since 2005, assessments have been undertaken by self-assessment with a percentage independently validated.

Care Homes: Nutrition

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the implementation of the Commission for Social Care Inspection's guidance on clinical triggers: The management of nutritional care;
	(2)  what progress the Commission for Social Care Inspection has made in developing suitable training for inspectors of standards of nutritional care.

Ivan Lewis: We are informed by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that it produced the guidance for inspectors in June 2006. It is also available to service providers on the CSCI professionals website at:
	www.csci.org.uk/professional/default.aspx?page=7346key.
	The guidance was developed in collaboration with a dietician. It reflects best practice as advised by nutritional groups and includes the need for services to carry out nutritional screening on admission and on a periodic basis for those people at risk of malnutrition.
	CSCI inspects providers against national minimum standards (NMS), published by the Secretary of State under section 23(1) of the Care Standards Act 2000. These include:
	Standard 8Healthcare, of which Standard 8.9 relates to nutritional carenutritional screening is undertaken on admission and subsequently on a periodic basis, a record maintained of nutrition, including weight gain or loss, and appropriate action taken.
	Standard 15Meals and Mealtimes, includes a range of guidance to ensure that services provide people with a wholesome appealing balanced diet, at a time and place to suit the individual and that assistance when eating is offered as required.
	The State of Social Care report, published by CSCI in December 2006, indicates the level of achievement of the NMS by services for adults and older people since 2002-03 up to 2005-06. Copies of the report are available in the Library. Levels of achievement were given as percentages of services for younger adults and older people meeting or exceeding individual standards. These percentages are shown in the table, together with the most recent figures for the 2006-07 inspection year.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Healthcare  Meals and mealtimes 
			  Care homes for younger adults   
			 2002-03 86 81 
			 2003-04 89 86 
			 2004-05 89 88 
			 2005-06 88 90 
			 2006-07 88 90 
			
			  Care homes for older people   
			 2002-03 73 78 
			 2003-04 78 82 
			 2004-05 78 84 
			 2005-06 78 85 
			 2006-07 79 86 
		
	
	CSCI participated as a stakeholder, in collaboration with the Department of Health, in the development of the Nutrition Action Plan. As a stakeholder, CSCI has made a commitment that it will use the Annual Quality Assurance Assessment (AQAA) to ask all providers to confirm that they carry out nutritional screening for people at risk of malnutrition. Where evidence raises concern about nutrition and malnutrition, CSCI will ensure that this is fully explored during the next inspection of the service and will track through the AQAA, the assessment of individual person centred plans to make sure that where required, nutritional screening has taken place.
	CSCI will be meeting with Skills for Care on 27 November 2007 to discuss the competences required by inspectors on nutritional care. The outputs from this work will inform training requirements, which will be delivered to inspectors within CSCI's overall training programme.

Care Homes: Standards

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his most recent estimate is of the cost of implementation of the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare  (a) in total and  (b) broken down by major cost area.

Ivan Lewis: The estimated overall cost to the national health service is 219 million in the first full year of implementation. This includes an allowance for primary care trusts to continue to pay the high band nursing care contribution for all those people receiving it, when the framework was implemented on 1 October 2007.

Chlamydia: Screening

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration his Department has given to the merits of developing a tariff for chlamydia screening in the system of payment by results, as recommended on page three of the Health Protection Agency's Annual Report of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme for 2006-07.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department of Health consulted on how the payment by results system impacts on access to sexual health services as part of the  Options for the Future of Payment by Results: 2008-092010-11 consultation document published on 15 March 2007.
	There were a number of responses from stakeholders with an interest in sexual health and we will be considering their views in establishing our development priorities for sexual health payment by results. We will also take into account newly emerging recommendations such as that by the Health Protection Agency.

Cocoa: Labelling

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to regulate labelling to identify the country of origin on products containing cocoa.

Dawn Primarolo: Origin labelling rules are harmonised at European Union level and, while the European Commission is currently reviewing legislation in this area, neither the Commission nor the United Kingdom has plans to introduce mandatory origin labelling for products containing cocoa.
	Meanwhile, there is nothing to stop manufacturers from declaring this on a voluntary basisprovided it is accurate and not misleading.

Cost Benefit Analysis

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  with reference to the answer of 28 June 2006,  Official Report, column 458W, on cost benefit analysis, if he will make available the results of the evaluation of demonstration sites;
	(2)  with reference to the answer of 28 June 2006,  Official Report, column 459W, on cost benefit analysis, when the results referred to in the answer were published; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the results.

Ben Bradshaw: The evaluation report of the demonstration sites was published on 23 October. A separate report, written by the subgroups overseeing the projects in six speciality areas, was published on the same day.
	Both reports are available online. The evaluation report is available at:
	www.npcrdc.ac.uk/Evaluation_of_Closer_to_Home_ Demonstration_Sites.htm.
	The speciality subgroup report is available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_079728
	Copies of both publications have been placed in the Library.

Departmental Consultants

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list all services purchased from consultants in 2006-07.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not collect information on all the services purchased from consultants in the format requested. To do so would attract disproportionate cost.
	A new system will be introduced in April 2008 called SHOWA, which will be able to gather such information for the Department.

Departmental Correspondence

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department expects to reply to the letter of 28 February 2007 from the hon. Member for Southend West to Lord Hunt of Kings Heath enclosing an e-mail from Autumn Fredericks; what the reason for the time taken to reply is; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: A reply was issued on 12 June 2007.

Departmental Expenditure

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what written guidance on the Comprehensive Spending Review was  (a) sent in 2007 by HM Treasury to his Department and  (b) has been circulated internally within his Department.

Ben Bradshaw: As is normal in the run-up to a spending review, HM Treasury provided numerous pieces of guidance to all Departments, including the Department of Health, on preparations and evidence for the 2007 comprehensive spending review.

Departmental Manpower

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many reports have been made to his Department's nominated officers under paragraph 16 of the revised Civil Service Code since its publication on 6 June 2006;
	(2)  how many allegations of victimisation for whistleblowing have been reported to his Department by departmental staff since 6 June 2006;
	(3)  when his Department's whistleblowing procedures were reviewed to reflect the provisions in the revised Civil Service Code.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) on 19 November 2007,  Official Report, column 596W.

Departmental Official Hospitality

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what entertainment or hospitality members of the Department's management board have received in each of the last three financial years; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Paragraph 4.3.5 of the Civil Service Management Code sets out the rules on the registration of hospitality. The Government are committed to publishing an annual list of hospitality received by members of departmental boards. The first list for 2007 will be published as soon as it is ready after the end of the current calendar year.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he intends to publish programme budgeting data for 2006-07 on his Department's website.

Ben Bradshaw: England level programme budgeting expenditure data were published as part of the Department's resource accounts on 11 October 2007. Primary care trust level data were published on the Department of Health's website on 29 October 2007, and are available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/programmebudgeting

Dermatology: Private Sector

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department paid to private healthcare providers for dermatological services in 2006-07.

Ben Bradshaw: Information is available on the total amount the Department and the national health service spend on contracts with independent sector treatment centres and other private sector bodies but this is not broken down in a way that allows spend on dermatological services to be determined.

Diabetes

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Government has allocated to research into diabetes since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: Over the last 10 years, the main part of the Department's total expenditure on health research has been devolved to and managed by national health service organisations. The NHS has reported spending from this funding in support of diabetes as follows:
	
		
			million 
			 2001-02 13.9 
			 2002-03 17.5 
			 2003-04 18.2 
			 2004-05 19.3 
			 2005-06 21.4 
			 2006-07 24.8 
		
	
	These data were not collected centrally prior to 2001.
	The Department now funds NHS research and development through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The Institute's Diabetes Research Network, one of six topic specific networks, brings together NHS staff and resources to support randomised controlled trials and other well-designed studies for commercial and non-commercial sponsors. The NIHR is investing 20 million over five years in the network.
	The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government support medical and clinical research. The MRC is an independent body funded by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
	MRC expenditure on research concerned with diabetes since 1999 has been:
	
		
			million 
			 1999-2000 6.5 
			 2000-01 8.6 
			 2001-02 9.8 
			 2002-03 11.4 
			 2003-04 11.4 
			 2004-05 9.8 
			 2005-06 13.9 
		
	
	Earlier comparable figures are not available.

Eastbourne Hospital: Hip Replacements

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hip replacement operations were performed on patients over 65 at the Eastbourne district general hospital in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is not available in the format requested. However, the information in the table shows data for the years 2002-03 to 2005-06 for East Sussex hospital NHS trust, which Eastbourne district general hospital is a part of. Data prior to 2002-03 are not available in readily accessible form.
	
		
			  Count of finished consultant episodes with a hip replacement operation performed on patients aged 65 years and over at East Sussex hospital national health service trust 2002-03 to 2005-06 
			  NHS hospitals England 
			   Finished consultant episodes 
			 2005-06 940 
			 2004-05 803 
			 2003-04 846 
			 2002-03 786 
			  Notes: 1. Codes used for hip replacement operations were: total prosthetic replacement of hip joint (W37W39) and prosthetic replacement of head of femur (W46W48). 2. Finished consultant episode (FCE) An FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year. 3. Ungrossed data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed). 4. Finished consultant episode (FCE) with an operation A count of FCEs with an operation is the number of finished consultant episodes where the procedures were mentioned in any of the 12 (four prior to 2002-03) operative procedure fields in a HES record. A record is only included once in each count, even if a procedure is mentioned in more than one operative procedure field of the record. Please note that more procedures are carried out than finished consultant episodes with an operation. For example, patients undergoing a cataract operation would tend to have at least two proceduresremoval of the faulty lens and the fitting of a new onecounted in a single finished consultant episode.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for Health and Social Care

General Practitioners

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GPs are currently registered as having a special interest, broken down by specialty.

Ben Bradshaw: There are currently more than 1,700 general practitioners with a special interest. Information to provide a breakdown by specialty is not available centrally.

General Practitioners: East Sussex

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what average annual earnings for general practitioners in the East Sussex Downs and Weald Primary Care Trust were in each year since 1997.

Ben Bradshaw: Information on the average annual earnings for general practitioners in East Sussex Downs and Weald Primary Care Trust is not held centrally.

General Practitioners: Location

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to encourage the location of GP practices on high streets.

Ben Bradshaw: It is for primary care trusts to commission primary medical care services from general practitioners (GPs) and other providers that best meet local needs. Some of these services may be GP led health centres situated on high streets because of their convenient location and good transport links.

General Practitioners: Older Workers

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many practising general practitioners are over  (a) 80,  (b) 75,  (c) 70 and  (d) 65 years of age; and what percentage of practising general practitioners each figure represents.

Ben Bradshaw: This information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  General practitioners (GPs) by age band as at September 2006 
			   Headcount  Percentage 
			 All GPs (excluding retainers and registrars) 33,091 100.0 
			  of which:   
			 Over 80 7 0.0 
			 Over 75 23 0.1 
			 Over 70 143 0.4 
			 Over 65 738 2.2 
			  Note: General Medical Practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) includes GP Providers and GP Others.  Source: The Information Centre for Health and Social Care General and Personal Medical Services Statistics

Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust was disconnected from the combined emergency services STORM telephone system in the joint control room in Devizes; and what system has replaced it.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not hold this information centrally. It is a matter for the ambulance trust to decide locally what systems they use or discontinue using within their control rooms, and this extends to shared control rooms with other emergency services.

Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust: Manpower

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) required and  (b) actual number of paramedics is in the Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not set specific requirements for numbers of paramedics. Work force planning is a matter for individual trusts to undertake, working with their commissioners and strategic health authorities. Plans need to be, and are, regularly reviewed as circumstances change.
	Data are available for ambulance staff breakdown, as at September 2006, through the Information Centre for health and social care 2006 Non-Medical Workforce Census. There were 375 ambulance paramedics up until 30 September 2006, when the last work force census was taken.

Health Services: Equality

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to improve the compliance of primary care trusts with the public sector gender duties; and what support the Government will provide to NHS organisations to help them reduce gender inequalities in health outcomes.

Ivan Lewis: The Department is committed to tackling gender inequalities within the health and social care sector by recognising the specific health needs of men and women. There has been increased awareness amongst healthcare professionals of the correlation between gender and health and its impact on access, quality of health care and medical treatment for men and women. The Department's commitment to create a patient-centred service which extends choice and is responsive to all patients and users, especially with regards to the gender perspective will ensure that any gender differences in treatment and access are eliminated.
	The Department commissioned the Men's Health Forum to work with five primary care trusts (PCTs) to develop a tool to assist PCTs in providing gender sensitive services. PCTs will be able to identify where changes can be made and how to approach the implementation of the gender duty. The results of this projectthe Gender Equity Audit report was launched on 6 November 2006 at the Men's Health Forum ConferencePutting Gender on the NHS Agenda: Implementing the Gender Equality Duty in the NHS.
	Research is currently being undertaken by the Department, on the different way men and women access health services and what difference this has on health outcomes. It is intended that the outcomes of this research will provide the evidence base to identify actions to take in tackling gender health inequalities. The research will target a range of national health service organisations, including PCTs, and will take account of overlapping inequality issues such as age, ethnicity, sexual orientation.
	The Department has produced and disseminated guidance for the NHS by developing Creating a Gender Equality Scheme: A practical guide for the NHS and 10 Steps to Developing Your Single Equality Schemes web guidance. A series of regional and national events recently disseminated guidance on developing Single Equality Schemes that incorporate the requirements of the gender equality duty. A further series of local events is currently under consideration.
	The Department's Equality and Human Rights Group has established the Gender Equality Advisory Group to bring together key stakeholders in developing and prioritising gender actions which will inform the prioritisation of departmental policy and initiatives to provide ongoing support for the NHS.

Health Services: EU Countries

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if, prior to ratification of any European Reform Treaty, the Government will put forward and insist upon amendments designed to ensure that citizens of the United Kingdom domiciled in  (a) France and  (b) any member state of the European Union shall be entitled to the provisions for healthcare available to the domestic nationals of that country.

Dawn Primarolo: It is for each individual state to determine who and what is covered for health care.

Health Services: Newcastle upon Tyne

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what projections for the population of the City of Newcastle in 2006-07 and 2007-08 were used in allocating resources for health services; how those projections were calculated; and what methodology will be used to project the population of the city for 2008-09.

Ben Bradshaw: The 2006-07 and 2007-08 revenue allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs) used 2003 based Office for National Statistics (ONS) sub-national population projections for 2006 and 2007 respectively, adjusted for cross boundary flows of patients between PCTs using 2004 general practitioner practice lists. A detailed explanation of the methodology is contained in Resource Allocation: Weighted Capitation Formula (Fifth Edition) which is available in the Library and also at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policyandguidance/Organisationpolicy/Financeandplanning/Allocations/DH_076396.
	The population projections used for allocations to Newcastle PCT are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Allocation year  Population 
			 2006-07 258,859 
			 2007-08 258,398 
		
	
	A one-year PCT revenue allocation has been announced for 2008-09. The funding formula will be frozen in 2008-09, this means that no data or formula changes, including population, will be implemented for that year. All PCTs will receive a flat-rate increase on their 2007-08 revenue allocation.

Health Services: Romford

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans there are to establish a walk-in medical centre in Romford.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department no longer has responsibility for planning walk-in centres. It is for the local national health service organisations to plan and develop services for their local communities.

Hospices: Children

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding each primary care trust has provided to children's hospices in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: That information is not collected centrally.

Hospital Beds: Greater London

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government has taken to increase the number of hospital beds in London since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: It is for the local national health service to provide appropriate levels of care to their local communities.

Hospital Beds: Intensive Care

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) high dependency and  (b) intensive care beds there were in each Government region in each year since 1995; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Information on the number of high dependency beds was not collected before March 1999.
	The bi-annual adult critical care provision census collects the number of high dependency and adult intensive care beds started in March 1999 with the latest census in July 2007. Tables have been placed in the Library which give the number of critical care beds broken down by the relevant national health service regional structure.
	The KH03 collects the total number of days for all types of intensive care beds,(including paediatric and neonatal). Those data are available back to 1995. This information has also been provided.

Hospitals: Hotels

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by each hospital trust on hotel accommodation for families of patients in  (a) their own trust area and  (b) other trust areas in the last year for which such information is available.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 20 November 2007
	 This information is not collected centrally. The arrangement and responsibility for any such provision is a local matter.

Influenza

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 17 October 2007,  Official Report, column 1170W, on influenza, whether the public engagement programme has commenced; what workstreams are anticipated as part of that programme; whether it will seek to understand public attitudes with respect to the prioritisation of  (a) intensive care beds,  (b) vaccines and  (c) antivirals; whether he intends to undertake the programme prior to publication of the national framework for responding to an influenza pandemic; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The contract for the public engagement programme has been awarded. Public workshops are planned for early 2008.
	The aim of the project is to engage with the public to understand how they might think and react in the event of an influenza pandemic; including seeking their views on prioritisation of intensive care beds, vaccines and antivirals. This will enable us to refine the communications strategy that supports the National Framework for Responding to an Influenza Pandemic, which has just been published.

Influenza: Vaccination

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the level of take up of influenza vaccine by pensioners over 65 years old in West Chelmsford constituency in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: Flu vaccine uptake data were collected for the first time on those aged 65 and over from 2000-01. Data are collected by primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority. Data are not collected by constituency. Due to geographical changes West Chelmsford fell within North Essex PCT, Essex Health Authority (HA), and Chelmsford PCT between 2000-01 to 2006-07.
	The percentage uptake of those aged 65 and over who received a flu vaccine in North Essex in 2000-01 and 2001-02, Essex HA in 2002-03, Chelmsford PCT 2003-04 to 2005-06 and North Essex in 2006-07 is available in the Library.

Influenza: Vaccination

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to point (9) in his letter to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire of 2 October 2007, reference PO00000234668, whether any foreign Governments have arranged to purchase vaccine for use in the event of an influenza pandemic from manufacturers in the UK.

Dawn Primarolo: We do not have any information on this as it is a commercial decision between United Kingdom manufacturers and foreign Governments.

Influenza: Vaccination

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate has been made of the take-up of influenza vaccinations by pensioners over 65 years old in  (a) Ribble Valley,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) England in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: Data are not collected by constituency. For data which are available, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 29 October 2007,  Official Report, column 1035W.
	Data are not available by county.
	Influenza vaccine uptake data for those over 65 years of age were collected for the first time from 2000. The uptake of influenza vaccination in those over 65 years of age in England from 2000 is shown in the following table;
	
		
			   Uptake in those aged 65 years and over (%) 
			 2000-01 65.3 
			 2001-02 67.7 
			 2002-03 68.5 
			 2003-04 71.0 
			 2004-05 71.5 
			 2005-06 75.3 
			 2006-07 74.0

Intensive Care

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many intensive care beds were available on average in each year since 1997; and what the average occupancy rates were.

Ben Bradshaw: The requested information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Average daily available, occupied, and occupancy rate of intensive care beds for England between1996-97 and 2006-07 
			  Year  Ward type  Intensive care beds available  Intensive care beds occupied  Occupancy rate (occupied/ available x100 per cent.) of intensive care beds 
			 1996-97 Neonates 1,524 1,075 70.54 
			  Paediatric 233 174 74.68 
			  Wholly or mainly adult 2,428 1,747 71.95 
			  Total (neonates + paediatric + adult) 4,185 2,996 71.59 
			  
			 1997-98 Neonates 1,530 1,052 68.76 
			  Paediatric 265 201 75.85 
			  Wholly or mainly adult 2,417 1,727 71.45 
			  Total (neonates + paediatric + adult) 4,212 2,980 70.75 
			  
			 1998-99 Neonates 1,525 1,079 70.75 
			  Paediatric 273 194 71.06 
			  Wholly or mainly adult 2,438 1,829 75.02 
			  Total (neonates + paediatric + adult) 4,236 3,102 73.23 
			  
			 1999-2000 Neonates 1,534 1,101 71.77 
			  Paediatric 282 195 69.15 
			  Wholly or mainly adult 2,531 1,934 76.41 
			  Total (neonates + paediatric + adult) 4,347 3,230 74.30 
			  
			 2000-01 Neonates 1,517 1,092 71.98 
			  Paediatric 290 208 71.72 
			  Wholly or mainly adult 2,700 2,083 77.15 
			  Total (neonates + paediatric + adult) 4,507 3,383 75.06 
			  
			 2001-02 Neonates 1,543 1,088 70.51 
			  Paediatric 303 205 67.66 
			  Wholly or mainly adult 3,093 2,393 77.37 
			  Total (neonates + paediatric + adult) 4,939 3,686 74.63 
			  
			 2002-03 Neonates 1,551 1,081 69.70 
			  Paediatric 254 165 64.96 
			  Wholly or mainly adult 3,216 2,511 78.08 
			  Total (neonates + paediatric + adult) 5,021 3,757 74.83 
			  
			 2003-04 Neonates 1,491 1,084 72.70 
			  Paediatric 239 164 68.62 
			  Wholly or mainly adult 3,283 2,635 80.26 
			  Total (neonates + paediatric + adult) 5,013 3,883 77.46 
			  
			 2004-05 Neonates 1,523 1,120 73.54 
			  Paediatric 283 201 71.02 
			  Wholly or mainly adult 3,417 2,763 80.86 
			  Total (neonates + paediatric + adult) 5,223 4,084 78.19 
			  
			 2005-06 Neonates 1,688 1,196 70.85 
			  Paediatric 321 236 73.52 
			  Wholly or mainly adult 3,454 2,734 79.15 
			  Total (neonates + paediatric + adult) 5,463 4,166 76.26 
			  
			 2006-07 Neonates 1,658 1,233 74.37 
			  Paediatric 335 246 73.43 
			  Wholly or mainly adult 3,622 2,918 80.56 
			  Total (neonates + paediatric + adult) 5,615 4,397 78.31 
			  Source: Department of Health form kh03

Medical Services: Prisoners

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the number of prisoners admitted to hospital for treatment in the last year; and how many of these were placed in single rooms in hospital.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not held centrally.
	A 2005-06 audit of health care escorts and bedwatches activity in all prison establishments in England and Wales identified the following activity(1):
	(1 )Source:
	A Twelve Month Study of Prison Healthcare Escorts and Bedwatches, Department of Health, 2006.
	
		
			  Escorts and Bedwatches Activity (18 April 2005 to 21 April 2006) 
			   Number 
			 Escorts and unaccompanied hospital visits 45,324 
			 Bedwatches 2,533 
			 Total episodes 47,857 
		
	
	A copy of the full report has been placed in the Library and is also available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_062794

Medical Treatments: Procurement

Dai Havard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what statutory obligations there are upon the Centre of Evidence-based Purchasing to consider the outcomes of product assessments by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in its evaluations of medical devices.

Ben Bradshaw: There are no statutory obligations upon the Centre of Evidence-based Purchasing (CEP) to consider the outcomes of product assessments by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in its evaluations of medical devices.
	However, the Centre of Evidence-based Purchasing works closely with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to ensure that respective work-programmes complement one another and build on each other's efforts. For example, if NICE issues some clinical guidelines around a particular disease or technology, CEP can support that guidance by doing a piece of work on the specific products that support that guideline, perhaps by reviewing the market, or providing the national health service with comparative specifications to compare the products that are available.

Medical Treatments: Statistics

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when and by whom the decision was taken that the statistics published on 8 November on referral to treatment times would include data on non-admitted patients.

Ben Bradshaw: The decision to publish referral to treatment data for non-admitted patients was made on 19 October. The date of publication was dependent on these data being of sufficient quality.
	The Department's Director-General for NHS Finance, Performance and Operations, made the decision to publish these data on 8 November.

Methadone

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been on methadone programmes for over five years.

Dawn Primarolo: This information is not collected centrally.

Milton Keynes Hospital: Hospital Beds

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the occupancy rate of Milton Keynes hospital was in each month of the last three years.

Ivan Lewis: Information is not available in the format requested. The following table shows the average daily bed occupancy rate at Milton Keynes General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust for the period covering 2004-05 to 2006-07 which is the latest data available.
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 2004-05 85.2 
			 2005-06 84 
			 2006-07 86.4 
			  Source:  Department of Health KH03 form

Milton Keynes Hospital: Maternity Services

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the ratio of midwives to bays was in the delivery suite of Milton Keynes hospital in each shift in the last three months.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not held centrally. It is the responsibility of individual national health service acute trusts to ensure that staffing levels are sufficient and do not compromise patient safety.

Milton Keynes Hospital: Maternity Services

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many births there were in Milton Keynes Hospital in each month in each of the last five years.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 26 November 2007:
	As the National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question about how many births there were in Milton Keynes Hospital in each month in each of the last five years. (168047)
	Figures on live births in hospitals are available from birth registration information. The latest available figures by place of birth are for 2005. The attached table shows the figures requested for the calendar years 2001 to 2005, for the General Hospital in Milton Keynes.
	
		
			  Live births in Milton Keynes general hospital, by month of birth, 2001 to 2005 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 January 241 258 290 289 270 
			 February 229 236 252 255 239 
			 March 232 288 265 284 289 
			 April 241 248 255 302 247 
			 May 228 249 251 289 277 
			 June 260 216 313 224 277 
			 July 261 263 284 279 315 
			 August 289 274 285 286 291 
			 September 238 270 282 273 265 
			 October 258 261 289 284 283 
			 November 248 250 269 284 248 
			 December 244 232 277 255 268 
			 Total 2,969 3,045 3,312 3,304 3,269

Milton Keynes Hospital: Maternity Services

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to assist Milton Keynes hospital in meeting the Government aspiration of a one-to-one midwife per birth ratio in its delivery suite.

Ivan Lewis: Local national health service trusts are responsible for the provision of maternity services. This year NHS organisations, including Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, have been required to review maternity services, including an assessment of their workforce capacity. A range of mechanisms are in place to support local recruitment of midwives if needs are identified, for example to enable midwives who are not practising to return to work in maternity services.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what occasions his Department has agreed to a delay in implementing a National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence technology appraisal.

Dawn Primarolo: Directions that came into force on 1 January 2002 require primary care trusts and national health service trusts to make funds available to ensure that a health care intervention recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is normally available to NHS patients within three months of NICE issuing new technology appraisal guidance. There have been 12 appraisals for which the funding direction has been waived or amended. Details are given in the following table.
	
		
			  NICE appraisal title  Guidance publication date  Period of waiver 
			 Weight reduction for people with morbid obesity July 2002 Complete waiver 
			 Haemodialysishome versus hospital September 2002 Complete waiver 
			 Ultrasound locating devices for placing central venous catheters September 2002 12 months 
			 DiabetesInsulin pump therapy February 2003 12 months 
			 DiabetesPatient education models April 2003 Complete waiver 
			 Photodynamic therapy for age-related macular degeneration September 2003 9 months 
			 Liquid-based cytology for cervical screening October 2003 Complete waiver 
			 Myocardial Perfusion Scintigraphy for the diagnosis and management of angina and myocardial infarction November 2003 Complete waiver 
			 Laparoscopic surgery for Inguinal Hernia September 2004 Complete waiver 
			 Computerised Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Anxiety and Depression February 2006 12 months 
			 Parent-training/education programmes in the management of children with conduct disorders July 2006 24 months 
			 Laparoscopic surgery for the treatment of colorectal cancer August 2006 Complete waiver

NHS Treatment Centres: Private Sector

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to open new private sector diagnostic and treatment centres for NHS patients; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: As part of the Phase 2 Independent Sector (IS) Procurement Programme, the Secretary of State has announced that approvals are in place for two new PET-CT schemes which will provide scanning services in the North and South of England, and for a new renal scheme which will provide dialysis services in Cheshire and Merseyside, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire to proceed to financial close. Seven other Phase 2 IS schemes will also proceed through the procurement process. These services will be run by the IS but funded by the national health service, and free to NHS patients.

NHS: Billing

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether suppliers using NHS Shared Business Services are required to use the OB10 invoicing system; how many suppliers the NHS Shared Business Services deals with; and what the impact on costs to  (a) his Department and  (b) Xansa are from OB10 being used.

Ben Bradshaw: NHS Shared Business Services (SBS) Ltd is running a trial programme to establish the take up rate for electronic invoicing and OB10 is their preferred supplier. Neither client trusts nor suppliers are required to use the OB10 e-invoicing system and enrolment is entirely at the discretion of suppliers.
	At present, NHS SBS has over 90,000 suppliers registered on its system.
	No record of cost is being kept. NHS SBS is a 50/50 joint venture with Xansa Ltd. The Department's share of any profits made by NHS SBS will be passed on to its national health service customer base. If costs of NHS SBS reduce as a consequence of using OB10, the NHS's share of these will be fed back to its customers by way of additional profit distribution.

NHS: Billing

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS Shared Business Service costs  (a) his Department and  (b) Xansa to run.

Ben Bradshaw: In the last accounting year, NHS Shared Business Services made an operating loss after tax and interest of 13.268 million. This loss is borne equally by the two stakeholders.

NHS: Billing

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS  (a) trusts and  (b) other organisations are implementing the OB10 invoicing system; what guidance his Department has given on the OB10 system; what assessment he has made of the effect on the price the NHS organisations pay for services and goods of the OB10 system; what estimate he has made of the net financial effect on the NHS of the OB10 invoicing system; and whether (i) the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, (ii) NHS Supply Chain and (iii) Collaborative Procurement Hubs (A) are using and (B) plan to use the OB10 system.

Ben Bradshaw: It is up to individual national health service trusts and organisations to decide on whether e-invoicing is appropriate for their organisation and, if appropriate, the preferred supplier. Records are not held centrally on the number of NHS customers of OB10 or any other e-invoicing system.
	No guidance on the use of OB10, or any other e-invoicing system, has been issued by the Department.
	Use of e-invoicing systems such as OB10 has a number of benefits that should produce savings for all users. Costs are saved in the NHS trust because invoices do not have to be opened, scanned and distributed, and matching them to the order is simplified. There is greater accuracy and certainty for both supplier and the trust and suppliers benefit from speedier payment, in line with the Government's prompt payment policy.
	No estimate has been made of the net financial impact on the NHS of the use of OB10.
	The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency do promote the use of OB10 among its suppliers, but do not mandate its use. NHS Supply Chain do not use OB10 and they already have their own integrated e-ordering and e-invoicing system.
	No records are kept centrally regarding the e-invoicing policy of each NHS Collaborative Procurement Hub.

NHS: Finance

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what market forces factor is used for each NHS trust.

Ben Bradshaw: The market forces factor indices that are used to inform central payments to National Health Service Trusts and NHS Foundation Trusts for activity provided at national tariff in 2007-08. Copies have been placed in the Library.

NHS: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 15 November 2007,  Official Report, column 381W on NHS: finance, 
	(1)  whether the NHS is now expected to plan and manage its expenditure on a separate near-cash and non-cash basis;
	(2)  on what date his Department agreed with HM Treasury that the NHS would not plan or manage its expenditure on a separate near-cash and non-cash basis.

Ben Bradshaw: Under the current financial regime, the national health service is not expected to manage its expenditure on a separate near-cash and non-cash basis. While HM Treasury require Departments to manage expenditure on a near-cash and non-cash basis, it is a matter for the Department to decide whether this requirement is extended to the NHS.

NHS: Loans

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 29 October 2007,  Official Report, column 890W, on NHS: loans, when his Department estimates that the 777,881,000 in loans issued to NHS trusts in the UK on 22 March 2007 will be paid back.

Ben Bradshaw: The loans issued to NHS trusts on 22 March 2007 will be repaid in accordance with the loan terms shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Organisation name  Loan value (000)  Loan term (years) 
			 Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust 14,700 6 
			 Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust 5,000 5 
			 Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 17,500 4 
			 Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust 4,500 3 
			 Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust 29,322 6 
			 Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 6,250 2 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust 7,800 5 
			 East Cheshire NHS Trust 7,000 3 
			 East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust 4,000 4 
			 Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 14,000 3 
			 George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust 6,800 5 
			 Heatherwood and Wrexham Park Hospitals NHS Trust 3,000 4 
			 Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust 3,279 3 
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 10,896 5 
			 Humber Mental Health Teaching NHS Trust 1,500 2 
			 Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust 23,400 7 
			 Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 6,604 2 
			 Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust 11,000 3 
			 Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust 23,400 5 
			 North Bristol NHS Trust 52,000 20 
			 North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust 8,800 3 
			 North Cumbria Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 12,000 15 
			 North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 15,000 5 
			 North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust 10,000 1 
			 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 23,830 5 
			 Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust 5,600 2 
			 Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust 9,600 3 
			 Nuffield Orthopaedic NHS Trust 1,000 2 
			 Oxford Radcliffe Hospital NHS Trust 19,986 6 
			 Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust 2,500 4 
			 Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust 8,415 2 
			 Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust 13,650 5 
			 Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kings Lynn NHS Trust 6,300 3 
			 Rob Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic NHS Trust 3,400 3 
			 Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust 38,000 20 
			 Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust 9,000 2 
			 Scarborough and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust 7,646 5 
			 Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust 12,299 3 
			 South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,115 2 
			 South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust 28,000 4 
			 South Warwickshire General Hospitals NHS Trust 18,500 8 
			 Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust 25,000 4 
			 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 34,000 5 
			 Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust 56,000 25 
			 The Royal West Sussex NHS Trust 23,000 14 
			 Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust 1,700 3 
			 United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust 20,300 20 
			 University Hospitals Of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust 6,500 3 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust 11,200 5 
			 West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust 1,950 3 
			 Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust 36,094 9 
			 Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust 5,000 4 
			 Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 25,000 5 
			 Worcestershire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust 5,632 5 
			 Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust 17,005 8 
			 Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 2,908 1 
			 Total 777,881

NHS: Loans

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS trusts propose to declare interest payments on the loans given on 22 March 2007 on their end of year balance sheets in future financial years.

Ben Bradshaw: National health service trusts declare interest payable on the loans issued on 22 March 2007 in their annual financial statements under the 'Interest Payable' heading on the face of the Income and Expenditure Account, and provide a more detailed breakdown of this figure in the associated note to the financial statements.

NHS: Loans

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS trusts in receipt of loans issued on 22 March 2007  (a) included the loans on their end of year balance sheets for the financial year 2006-07 and  (b) propose to include the loans on their end of year balance sheets for 2007-08.

Ben Bradshaw: Under national health service accounting policies, as set out in the NHS finance manual, NHS trusts are required to include the outstanding value of loan principal on their balance sheets from the time the loan is issued until such time as the principal is fully repaid.

NHS: Loans

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total annual interest payable on the 777.881 in loans issued to NHS trusts on 22 March 2007 will be.

Ben Bradshaw: The total interest payable in 2007-08 on the 777.881 million of loans issued to national health service trusts on 22 March 2007 is 38.705 million. The interest payable each year is calculated on the outstanding value of loan principal, and therefore reduces in future years as loan principal is repaid.

NHS: Procurement

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contingency plans there are for national emergencies within the contract for supply chain logistics due to be managed by the Supply Chain Management Division of the NHS Business Service Authority; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: There are no special arrangements in the NHS supply chain contract for contingency plans in the event of a national emergency. However, if required the NHS supply chain, under the direction of the NHS Business Services authority, will re-prioritise demand to ensure that emergency deliveries can be made on request and that in these circumstances delivery is to be made to the national health service within four hours of an order being placed.

NHS: Public Participation

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by  (a) the NHS,  (b) his Department and  (c) Sutton Merton Primary Care Trust on the consultation on Better Healthcare Closer to Home.

Ben Bradshaw: A total of 280,000 was spent on the Better Healthcare Closer to Home consultation. The Department did not contribute separately to the funding of the consultation.
	The costs were divided equally between the following organisations:
	Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust (PCT)
	East Elmbridge and Mid Surrey PCT
	Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust
	Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority (SHA)
	South West London SHA.

Options for the Future of Payment by Results: 2008-09 to 2010-11

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish his Department's response to its consultation on Options for the Future of Payment by Results: 2008-09 to 2010-11.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department expects to publish its response to the Option for the Future of Payment by Results: 2008-09 - 2010-11 consultation before the end of this year.

Patient Choice Schemes

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  which web browsers are compatible with Choose and Book;
	(2)  what web browsers are compatible with  (a) each element and  (b) all elements of the NHS information technology programme.

Ben Bradshaw: The choose and book professional application is fully compatible with Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6.0 (IE6). Users are advised to employ IE6, but can also use Internet Explorer version 7.0 (IE7). Instructions on optimum browser configuration for IE7 have been published on the choose and book website.
	The choose and book patient application currently supports Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.0 (IE5) and above. Microsoft Internet Explorer is used by over two thirds of all internet users in the United Kingdom, and for this reason was selected as the browser for which the patient web application was originally devised in order to provide access to the greatest number of patients in the shortest possible time. While this means that the site is not yet accessible to all internet users, work is in hand to ensure full accessibility, including to those who access via the Firefox and Safari web browsers. A new release of the patient application will mean that the Firefox browser will be supported from December 2007.
	All the national programme's core applications and services require web browser functionality. Suppliers are delivering solutions which will in due course be accessible via all versions of IE or Firefox. However, in the short term, some current versions of suppliers' solutions are limited to IE6.

Patients: Transport

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on the Hospital Travel Costs scheme in each year since 1997-98 for which figures are available; and how many patients received grants under the scheme in each year.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not collect information on the cost of the Hospital Travel Costs scheme, nor on how many patients have claimed a reimbursement under the scheme. It is for primary care trusts, as local commissioners of healthcare services, to make provisions so that patients with either a financial or a medical need for transport can travel to and from their treatment or care.

Patients: Transport

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in the budgets of which NHS organisations funding for the Hospital Travel Costs scheme is held; and whether this money is ringfenced.

Ben Bradshaw: Funding for the Hospital Travel Costs Scheme is built into financial allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs), who commission hospital services on behalf of patients. This has not been explicitly identified, in line with the policy to devolve decision making to a local level.
	PCTs are responsible for reimbursing healthcare providers for the payments made under the scheme for all patients resident within their districts. Where the treatment given is within the scope of the national tariff, reimbursement will be included in the tariff payment. Where the treatment given is outside the scope of the national tariff, the PCT should make arrangements for healthcare providers to be reimbursed at periodic intervals.

Pharmacy

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether he plans to give the NHS Business Services Authority the  (a) power and  (b) additional resources to monitor the number of claim payments for medicines use reviews by each contractor;
	(2)  how many pharmacies exceeded the limit on claim payments for medicines use reviews in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006;
	(3)  by how much pharmacy contractors exceeded the limit on claim payments for medicines use reviews in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 20 November 2007
	 It is for primary care trusts to monitor medicines use review service provision by community pharmacies and adjust individual community pharmacy remuneration according to that service provision. Therefore there are no plans to change the role of the Prescription Pricing Division (PPD) of the NHS Business Services Authority.
	During the financial year April 2005 to March 2006, 25 pharmacies exceeded the limit of 250 on payments for medicines use reviews (MURs). In the financial year April 2006 to March 2007, 126 pharmacies exceeded the limit of 400. These figures do not take account of the pharmacies to whom the lower limit of 200 applied because they started providing the service mid year. In 2005-06 and 2006-07, the average number of MURs per pharmacy was 39 and 96 respectively.
	In the financial year 2005-06, excess payments to those pharmacies that exceeded the limit was 42,218 (1,966 claims) and in the year 2006-07, the excess payment was 67,650 (2,706 claims). These figures do not reflect any recovery of excess payments made by primary care trusts (PCTs) nor does it take account of the pharmacies to which the lower limit of 200 applied because they started providing the service mid year. This is a matter for PCTs as they can locally commission and fund additional MURs above the national threshold.

Social Services: Finance

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much is planned to be spent by each local authority and in total by all local authorities on  (a) direct payments for social care,  (b) supported and other accommodation,  (c) nursing home placements,  (d) equipment and adaptations,  (e) meals,  (f) other services,  (g) assessment and case management,  (h) day care,  (i) residential care home placement and  (j) home care for elderly people; and what percentage of their total health and social care budgets each of these figures represent.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not available centrally.

Social Services: Finance

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much each local authority is planning to spend on care for elderly and disabled persons who are in  (a) critical need,  (b) substantial need,  (c) moderate need and  (d) low need according to Fair Access to Care Services guidance to local authorities in 2002 in 2007-08; and what each authority spent on each of these categories in (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05, (iii) 2005-06 and (iv) 2006-07.

Ivan Lewis: This information is not held centrally.
	It is for individual local authorities to manage and direct their own resources in accordance with local priorities and the needs of the communities to which they are accountable. Local authorities should refer to the Fair Access to Care ServicesGuidance on Eligibility for Adult Social Care. A copy has been placed in the Library.

Spinal Injuries

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people with spinal cord injuries were discharged from hospital to a nursing home in each year since 2001, broken down by age.

Ivan Lewis: Information on the number of people with spinal cord injuries discharged from hospital to a nursing home is not collected centrally.

Steroids: Death

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of fatalities caused by the abuse of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs in each of the last 10 years.

Dawn Primarolo: There have been two deaths in England between 1997 and 2006 in which anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs were implicated or may have played a contributory part.
	 Source:
	Statistics from The National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths

Surgery: Private Sector

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's policy is on offsetting costs of private operations in order for a person to return to work and leave statutory sick pay.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 15 November 2007
	The Department has no policy of offsetting the cost of private operations.
	By December 2008, national health service patients can expect a maximum wait of 18 weeks from general practitioner referral to the start of consultant-led treatment. Most patients will be treated much quicker than that, allowing them to return to work much more quickly where appropriate. Latest figures for patients who started their treatment in August 2007 show that seven out of 10 patients are already being treated in 18 weeks or less.
	The introduction of patient choice is increasing patients' ability to choose a provider that can treat them rapidly. The Hospital Travel Costs Scheme, part of the NHS Low Income Scheme, ensures that no one is denied access to the hospital of their choice because they cannot afford the cost of travel.
	Finally, practice-based commissioners have flexibility to use their resources to achieve longer-term budget savings and better patient outcomes by commissioning social care or preventative interventions. Such interventions could be focused on helping people to return to work.

Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust: Manpower

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many non-clinical staff are employed by Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust; and how many were employed in  (a) 1997,  (b) 2001 and  (c) 2005.

Ben Bradshaw: This information is not collected in the format requested. Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust (PCT) was formed in 2002, and so figures for 1997 and 2001 are unavailable. Also, figures for 2007 are not yet available.
	The following table shows figures for non-clinical staff employed by Sutton and Merton PCT from 2002 to 2006.
	
		
			  National Health Service Hospital and community health services: NHS staff in the Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust by each specified staff group as at 30 September each specified year 
			  Headcount 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Total specified staff 1,276 1,230 1,629 1,894 1,505 
			   
			  Support to clinical staff 528 534 784 809 689 
			 Support to doctors and nursing staff 501 492 732 753 617 
			 Support to scientific therapeutic and technical staff 27 42 52 56 72 
			   
			  NHS infrastructure support 285 233 247 270 214 
			 Central functions 179 135 155 164 139 
			 Hotel, property and estates 7 10 12 11 8 
			 Managers and senior managers 99 88 80 95 67 
			   
			 GP practice staff 463 463 598 815 602 
			  Notes:  1. More accurate validation processes in 2006 have resulted in the identification and removal of 9,858 duplicate non-medical staff records out of the total workforce figure of 1.3 million in 2006. Earlier years' figures could not be accurately validated in this way and so will be slightly inflated. The level of inflation in earlier years' figures is estimated to be less than 1 per cent. of total across all non-medical staff groups for headcount figures (and negligible for full-time equivalents). This should be taken into consideration when analysing trends over time.  2. General practitioner (GP) practice staff (excluding practice nurses) includes direct patient care, administrative and clerical and other staff paid by GP practices, which are contracted by the PCT.  3. Sutton and Merton PCT was formed in 2002.  Sources:  The Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce Census  The Information Centre for health and social care general and personal medical services Statistics.

Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust: Manpower

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many practice nurses there were in  (a) Wimbledon constituency and  (b) the London borough of Merton in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2007.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is only available by primary care trust (PCT) area, and figures for 2007 are not yet available. Also, Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth Primary Care Trust was the organisation in existence in 1997 covering the London borough of Merton.
	The following table details the number of practice nurses for Sutton and Merton PCT in 2006, and for Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth PCT in 1997.
	
		
			  Practice nurses by selected areas, as at 1 October 1997 and 30 September 2006 
			  Numbers (headcount) 
			1997  2006 
			 5M7 Sutton  Merton PCT (1) 136 
			 5LG Wandsworth PCT (1) 119 
			 QAJ Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth 244 (1) 
			 (1 )Denotes data not available.  Note: Data presented for organisations in existence in the specified years,  Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.

Thrombosis: Medical Treatments

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to assess therapies for venous thromboembolism which are being developed.

Dawn Primarolo: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is developing a clinical guideline on the prevention of venous thromboembolism in all hospital patients. NICE expects to publish this guidance in 2009.
	In June 2007, the Secretary of State made a 'minded' technology appraisal referral to NICE of the drug dabigatran etexilate for the prevention of venous thromboembolism following elective hip or knee replacement surgery in adults. NICE has undertaken a consultation on the remit and scope of this appraisal and a final decision on its referral to NICE will be taken shortly.

Tobacco

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department has provided towards national tobacco strategies in each of the last five years.  [Official Report, 25 January 2008; Vol. 470, c. 18MC.]

Dawn Primarolo: The Department has provided the following funding to support the Government's national tobacco strategies set out as follows:
	The following table shows advertising expenditure on the dangers of smoking from 2003-04 to date.
	
		
			  Expenditure on education campaigns financial year  Tobacco control ( million) 
			 2003-04 17.76 
			 2004-05 25.00 
			 2005-06 23.00 
			 2006-07 13.50 
			 2007-08 11.39 
		
	
	The Department awarded a grant of 2,670,000 to Cancer Research UK (CRUK) under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 to fund the charity's Light and Mild campaign in 2003-04. A further grant of 300,000 grant was made in 2006-07 for CRUK's media campaign on the harmful constituents of secondhand smoke.
	The Department awarded a grant of 5,000,000 to British Heart Foundation (BHF) under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 to fund the charity's media campaign in 2004-05 on heart disease caused by smoking. A further grant of 4,000,000 was made in 2005-06 to BHF for a media campaign highlighting the dangers of smoking and heart disease.
	In each year since 2003, 2 million has been funding allocated to the nationwide system of local tobacco alliances and the Regional Tobacco Policy Managers.
	
		
			  Financial year  Financial allocations to the national health service for stop smoking services ( million) 
			 2003-04 41 
			 2004-05 46 
			 2005-06 51 
			 2006-07 56 
			 2007-08 56 
		
	
	The Department's grants to Action on Smoking Health (ASH) under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Financial year  Grants () 
			 2003-04 164,000 
			 2004-05 168,000 
			 2005-06 180,000 
			 2006-07 185,400 
			 2007-08 191,000 
		
	
	The Department's grants to the No Smoking Day (NSD) organisation are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Financial year  Grants () 
			 2003-04 250,000 
			 2004-05 250,000 
			 2005-06 250,000 
			 2006-07 250,000 
			 2007-08 250,000 
		
	
	The Department's grants to QUIT (an organisation that provides support to smokers who want to quit smoking) under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Financial year  Grants () 
			 2002-03 10,000 
			 2003-04 20,000 
			 2004-05 25,000

Tuberculosis

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many cases of atypical tuberculosis were recorded in each of the last five years; which species of mycobacteria was responsible for each infection; and where these infections occurred;
	(2)  what definition his Department uses of  (a) typical and  (b) atypical tuberculosis.

Dawn Primarolo: The terms typical tuberculosis and atypical tuberculosis are not formally recognised and are therefore not defined.
	We have interpreted typical tuberculosis to mean tuberculosisa clinical disease that is defined by either:
	confirmation by laboratory culture of a sputum or other sample of infection, due to  Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (including  M. tuberculosis, M. bovis and  M. africanum).
	or
	in the clinician's judgment in the absence of culture confirmation, clinical and/or radiological signs and/or symptoms compatible with tuberculosis, which are treated with a full course of anti-tuberculosis treatment.
	We have interpreted atypical tuberculosis to mean disease caused by atypical mycobacteria, or non-tuberculous mycobacteria. It refers to infections caused by all other organisms of the family Mycobacteria excluding tuberculosis (caused by  M. tuberculosis complex) and leprosy (caused by  Mycobacterium leprae). Most of these organisms are ubiquitous in the environment and do not usually cause disease in humans except in individuals whose immune system is compromised. There are over 125 known non-tuberculous mycobacteria (the preferred term to describe these organisms).
	Disease or infection due to non-tuberculosis mycobacteria is not currently notifiable and therefore there are no reliable data on the number of cases in the last five years.

Tuberculosis

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis there have been in each year since 1997, broken down by strategic health authority area.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) by strategic health authority are shown in the following table, with data from 1998-2006.
	The Enhanced Tuberculosis Surveillance system (ETS) started in 1999. Prior to this, National TB Surveys were carried out every five years and this provided data for 1998.
	
		
			  SHA  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 East Midlands 9 11 11 19 18 18 19 15 22 
			 East of England 9 5 9 19 16 17 17 29 19 
			 London 82 97 107 132 165 191 185 179 203 
			 North East 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 
			 North West 11 10 17 14 20 12 20 26 18 
			 South Central 15 16 7 5 9 10 13 11 14 
			 South East Coast 5 5 9 7 13 8 8 9 13 
			 South West 11 7 5 9. 6 7 7 5 8 
			 West Midlands 20 20 19 21 36 20 26 25 21 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 9 5 8 7 5 18 26 31 27 
			  Source:  ETS, Health Protection Agency, as at 16 November 2007.

Working Parties

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many working parties there are under the direction of his Department.

Ben Bradshaw: In a survey carried out in autumn 2006, the Department identified over 200 working parties, including task forces and steering groups, which engaged stakeholders in working with the Department on policy, strategy and delivery. Such working parties, are set up by the Department's policy sections as needed and disbanded when no longer required.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Adoption: Standards

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to support efforts designed to meet the National Adoption Target; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: There is no national adoption target currently. This target ended in March 2006.

Children in Care

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what research he has commissioned into the causes of the recent increase in the number of  (a) babies,  (b) children and  (c) young people taken into care; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: No such research has been commissioned. The numbers of children, by age, who were taken into care(1) in England in each of the past four years were as follows:
	(1) Children 'taken into care' are those who became looked after during the course of the year under a care order or were detained for child protection.
	
		
			  Age on starting to be looked after (years)  Number of children 
			  Year ending 31 March 2004  
			 All children 7,500 
			 Under 1 2,000 
			 1 to 4 2,100 
			 5 to 9 1,800 
			 10 to 15 1,600 
			 16 and over 60 
			   
			  Year ending 31 March 2005  
			 All children 7,700 
			 Under 1 2,000 
			 1 to 4 2,100 
			 5 to 9 1,800 
			 10 to 15 1,700 
			 16 and over 50 
			   
			  Year ending 31 March 2006  
			 All children 7,700 
			 Under 1 2,100 
			 1 to 4 2,100 
			 5 to 9 1,800 
			 10 to 15 1,700 
			 16 and over 50 
			  Year ending 31 March 2007  
			 All children 7,600 
			 Under 1 2,100 
			 1 to 4 2,100 
			 5 to 9 1,800 
			 10 to 15 1,500 
			 16 and over 60 
			  Note: 1. Only the first occasion on which a child started to be looked after in the year has been counted. 2. Historical data may differ from older publications. This is mainly due to the implementation of amendments and corrections sent by some local authorities after the publication date of previous materials.  Source:  SSDA903 return on children looked after.

Children: Sexual Offences

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress has been made by his Department in improving protection for children from sex offenders; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The safety of children and young people, including their protection from sex offenders, is a top priority. The Department for Children, Schools and Families is working with the Home Office and the Department of Health to introduce the toughest ever vetting and barring system, under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, for all those working with, or seeking to work with, children and vulnerable adults. This will incorporate a robust, independent and expert barring process and will provide a modern and improved vetting service for employers, including parents. Pending the implementation of this new vetting and barring service, we have strengthened existing arrangements in a number of ways. We have extended the range of offences which will result in automatic inclusion on List 99 to include cautions as well as convictions for sexual offences against children. We have strengthened and clarified the requirements for safe recruitment in schools and further education colleges and required better record keeping on recruitment checks from these institutions.
	On 13 June 2007, the Home Office published the Review of the Protection of Children from Sex Offenders. This set out a number of actions to help improve the protection of children from sex offenders. Work is underway to put these steps in place.

Departmental Assets

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what departmental assets are planned to be sold in each financial year from 2007-08 to 2010-11; what the  (a) description and  (b) book value of each asset is; what the expected revenue from each sale is; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The Department will be publishing an asset management strategy in December 2007, which will provide details of our planned disposals up to 2010-11.

Departmental Cost Effectiveness

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what efficiency savings projects his Department put in place under the Spending Review 2004 targets; on what date each was initiated; how much each was expected to contribute to the target; how much has been saved by each; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The Department is jointly committed with the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), to the efficiency target set originally for the Department for Education and Skills (DfES).
	The DfES target is 2.5 per cent. a year over the Spending Review 2004 period. This means being able to demonstrate cumulative gains against our baseline of 1.45 billion in 2005-06, 2.9 billion in 2006-07 and 4.35 billion in 2007-08.
	The Department put in place an Efficiency Programme to manage the efficiency gains. Details of this programme and the initiatives which underpin it are detailed in the Efficiency Technical Note which can be found on the Department's website.
	The Department reports progress towards our Gershon target in the Department's Autumn Performance Report. This is about to be published in December 2007.

Departmental Manpower

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of his departmental staff were previously employed by other departments, broken down by the other departments concerned.

Kevin Brennan: The Department was created as part of the Machinery of Government changes announced on 28 June 2007. The vast majority of our staff are from the former Department for Education and Skills, with the exception of 40 staff who transferred in from the Home Office as the Respect Task Force, now known as the Youth Task Force and part of Youth Directorate in my Department. This represents around 1.4 per cent. of our staffing headcount total of 2,931 staff.

Departmental Manpower

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many people were employed by his Department and its predecessor on 1 January in each of the last five years; and how many of these staff were  (a) permanent employees,  (b) temporary staff and  (c) contractors.

Kevin Brennan: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 30 October,  Official Report , column 1131W.

Geronimo Communications

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what payments his Department and its predecessors made to Geronimo Communications in each year since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: Details of payments made to Geronimo Communication by the Department and its predecessors over the last nine years are set out as follows:
	
		
			
			 1999-2000 320,132 
			 2000-01 715,379 
			 2001-02 1,221,349 
			 2002-03 1,347,384 
			 2003-04 1,153,197 
			 2004-05 459,374 
			 2005-06 2,441,139 
			 2006-07 2,013,211 
			 2007-08 (to October 2007) 1,157,691 
		
	
	The data were requested for the last 11 years, however, the Department is only able to supply nine years. The Department is only required to retain financial records and original documentation for six years after the end of the financial year in which the transaction took place.
	The Department for Children, Schools and Families was created on 28 June 2007 as a result of a Machinery of Government change and the expenditure recorded above includes those of the two predecessor departments, the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) and the Department of Education and Skills (DfES). The expenditure for 2007-08 will also include any costs incurred by the newly created Department for Universities, Innovation and Skills, where these costs relate to areas formerly the responsibility of the Department for Education and Skills.

Parents: Training

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  when training programmes provided by the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners are expected to begin;
	(2)  how much funding his Department has committed to the establishment of the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners.

Beverley Hughes: The Academy has already begun delivering training programmes. There are two strands. The first, which began in September, is training practitioners across the country in Sure Start Children Centres, Extended Schools, Youth Offending Teams and other local settings, including voluntary and community groups, in skills for working effectively with parents. The second strand, to be offered initially from January 2008, is training practitioners to deliver established evidence-based parenting skills courses.
	The Department for Children, Schools and Families has committed a total of 30 million in grant funding to the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners over the three year period, 2007-10. The Academy's purpose is to improve the skills of the work force in working effectively with families and ensure there are sufficient practitioners trained to deliver evidence-based parenting programmes. It will map existing parenting support provision across the country in order to identify under-served locations and groups; and conduct research, including evaluating specialist parenting programmes, for example for foster parents.

Primary Education: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the levels of numeracy and literacy are among primary school leavers in  (a) Romford and  (b) the London borough of Havering.

Jim Knight: Levels of literacy and numeracy in primary school leavers are most conveniently measured by the proportions of children gaining national curriculum level 4 and above in English and mathematics, since this represents the expected national standard. Information on the percentages of 11-year-olds in Romford and Havering achieving these levels since 1997 is provided in the following table. Constituency level figures are not yet available for 2006/07, but will be published on the Department's website in December.
	
		
			  Key stage 2 level 4+ 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  Romford 
			 English 70 74 82 82 81 83 80 83 88 85  
			 Mathematics 68 70 76 77 77 78 80 79 83 82  
			  
			  Havering 
			 English 71 71 78 78 79 80 80 81 85 84 84 
			 Mathematics 67 65 76 76 75 78 78 78 81 80 81 
			  
			  England 
			 English 63 65 71 75 75 75 75 78 79 79 80 
			 Mathematics 62 59 69 72 71 73 73 74 75 76 77 
			  Note: Figures for 2006-07 are provisional, all other figures are final.

Pupils: Absenteeism

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the rate of  (a) authorised and  (b) unauthorised absence is from English schools by children in their last year of compulsory education.

Kevin Brennan: The following table showing the rate of absence by national curriculum year group has been published in Statistical First Release 11/2007'Pupil Absence in Secondary Schools in England, 2005-06'.
	Updated information relating to the 2006/07 school year is intended for publication in February 2008.
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools, city technology colleges and academies( 1) : Pupil absence by national curriculum year group( 2)  2005-06, England 
			Percentage of half days missed( 4) 
			  National curriculum year group  Number of day pupils of compulsory school age( 3)  Authorised absence  Unauthorised absence  Overall absence 
			 6 and below 52,130 5.35 0.28 5.63 
			 7 569,150 5.73 0.58 6.31 
			 8 579,690 6.48 0.90 7.38 
			 9 598,760 6.76 1.30 8.06 
			 10 601,220 6.98 1.84 8.82 
			 11 581,300 8.05 2.43 10.48 
			 12 and above 800 5.26 3.40 8.66 
			  
			 Total(5) 2,983,040 6.82 1.42 8.24 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) See Notes to Editors 10 for further information on how absence figures by national curriculum year group have been derived. (3) Pupil numbers are as at January 2006. Includes pupils aged 5 to 15 with sole and dual (main) registration. Excludes boarders. (4) The number of sessions missed due to authorised/unauthorised/overall absence expressed as a percentage of the total number of possible sessions. (5) Includes pupil enrolments for whom information on national curriculum year group was missing.  Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of the component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census

Schools: Admissions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families for what reasons local authorities are under an obligation to remove surplus school places; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Section 13 of the Education Act 1996 places local authorities under a duty to secure that
	efficient primary education, secondary education and further education are available to meet the needs of the population of their area.
	Funding used to maintain empty school places can represent an inefficient use of resources that could be better spent raising standards for parents and pupils.
	However, there is no 'surplus places rule' that would prevent the addition of provision where surplus places exist. As statutory guidance makes clear
	Where proposals add to surplus capacity but there is a strong case for approval on parental preference and standards grounds, the presumption should be for approval. The LA in these cases will need to consider parallel action to remove the surplus capacity thereby created.

Skilled Workers: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to ensure that residents from the London borough of Havering will have the necessary skills to ensure they can take advantage of jobs resulting from the Olympics in 2012.

David Lammy: I have been asked to reply.
	This year the Learning and Skills Council is introducing a 5 million package of measures across London to ensure that Londoners are motivated into work or training and able to compete for London 2012 opportunities and good jobs beyond 2012. This package will improve skills and training opportunities for Londoners in four key sectors related to the London 2012 Olympic games and Paralympic games: sport, customer service, audio-visual and construction. Demand for skilled workers in these four sectors is forecast to increase in the run-up to 2012 and beyond.
	Specific measures include advanced apprenticeships in sporting excellence and apprenticeships in sports and leisure; bursaries towards UK coaching certificates; training for people on incapacity and health benefit to enable them to become construction trade A1 assessors; preparing local residents for construction apprenticeships at Kings Cross station; delivering new apprenticeships in customer service/ hospitality; co-funding the research and development of a new customer service 'gold standard' to raise the bar of customer services in London for the games; and increasing the number and quality of work-based learning programmes on offer in the audio-visual industry. Additionally, the LSC has invested in the LDA-led personal best programme, graduates of which will have the opportunity to be interviewed for the London 2012 volunteering programme; and has entered into a training partnership with the Olympic delivery authority, construction skills and the London Development Agency with the objective of ensuring National Skills Academy for Construction status for the whole Olympic site.

Truancy

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps the Government has taken to reduce truancy since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: The Department focuses on reducing all unnecessary absences from schools, not just those which are unauthorised. Overall absence rates have been substantially lower than the 1996-97 rate of 7.23 per cent. in all but two of the last nine years for which full data are available. Partial data for 2006-07, which we placed in the Library of the House in October 2007, indicate that the downward tend is continuing.
	There is no direct measure of truancy. Unauthorised absence is often used as a proxy for truancy, but it is an imperfect measure because it also includes lateness and some term time holidays. It is also well known that unauthorised absence tends to rise when schools take a tougher line on absence generally, as it has done in recent years, without necessarily reflecting any underlying increase in truancy. That is why my Department has moved away from focusing narrowly on rates of unauthorised absence.
	We now know that a small minority of pupils account for large proportions of absence: in secondary schools, just 7 per cent. of pupils account for 62 per cent. of unauthorised absences and 32 per cent. of all absences. That is why we are now focusing our efforts on reducing persistent absence, which includes truancy, in schools where this problem is most acute. This is proving highly effective. Last year, our targeted challenge and support in 436 secondary schools helped to reduce the number of persistent absentees in those schools by over 20 per cent. We are continuing that focus on reducing persistent absence across all local authorities and their schools.

Young People: Employment

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) 16 to 18 and  (b) 18 to 24-year-olds were classed as not in employment, education or training by local authorities for (i) up to six months, (ii) six to 12 months, (iii) 12 to 18 months, (iv) 18 to 24 months and (v) over 24 months in each year since 1992.

Jim Knight: holding answer 19 November 2007
	The information requested is not available. The Department's estimates of the number and proportion of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) cannot be disaggregated to regional or local authority level, and do not show durations of time spent NEET. However, it is possible to produce snapshot estimates of the numbers and proportions of 16 to 18-year-olds(1) NEET by local authority using Connexions data, and of 18 to 24-year-olds(2) NEET by local authority using the Annual Population Survey (APS), formerly the Local Labour Force Survey (LLFS). These estimates are shown in the table.
	As with all survey estimates the NEET estimates from the APS and LLFS are subject to sampling error. Estimates from the APS and LLFS will not be directly comparable to estimates from Connexions.
	Estimates from Connexions (covering the period November to January) are only available for 2005 and 2006, LLFS estimates (covering the period May to April) are available between 2001/02 and 2004/05, and APS estimates (covering the period January to December) are available for 2005 and 2006.
	(1) Connexions estimates relate to people of calendar age 16 to 18.
	(2) Local Labour Force estimates relate to people of academic age 18 to 24.
	
		
			  Number and proportion of 16-18 year olds and 18-24 year olds NEET by local authority 
			   Connexions data  Annual population survey (APS) 
			   2005  2006  APS 2005  APS 2006 
			   16-18 year olds NEET( 1)  Percentage 16-18 year olds NEET( 1)  16-18 year olds NEET( 1)  Percentage 16-18 year olds NEET( 1)  18-24 year olds NEET( 2)  Percentage 18-24 year olds NEET( 2)  18-24 year olds NEET( 2)  Percentage 18-24 year olds NEET( 2) 
			  South East 
			 Bracknell Forest 250 9 180 6 1,280 16 1,310 13 
			 Reading 560 11 400 7 2,070 12 1,950 14 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 180 5 140 4 1,010 13 1,250 14 
			 Slough 410 9 240 5 1,440 11 2,500 20 
			 West Berkshire 300 6 240 5 1,380 13 2,140 19 
			 Wokingham 230 6 150 5 350 3 1,310 10 
			 Kent 2,930 6 2,970 6 13,200 13 19,300 19 
			 Medway 820 8 620 6 1,970 10 3,270 16 
			 Buckinghamshire 550 4 450 3 4,480 12 4,990 14 
			 Milton Keynes 580 8 490 6 3,110 17 3,000 18 
			 Oxfordshire 890 5 900 5 1,340 2 6,000 11 
			 Portsmouth 540 11 460 10 2,220 12 3,440 16 
			 Southampton 710 10 640 9 3,210 10 3,720 12 
			 Isle of Wight 240 6 260 6 1,310 17 1,600 20 
			 Hampshire 2,000 5 2,140 5 12,200 12 12,790 13 
			 Surrey 1,040 3 960 3 9,600 12 7,520 9 
			 Brighton and Hove 750 11 710 11 2,410 11 3,450 12 
			 East Sussex 1,200 8 1,170 8 3,950 12 3,900 12 
			 West Sussex 1,090 5 1,050 5 5,790 12 7,800 15 
			  
			  London 
			 Camden 440 9 380 7 3,210 15 3,120 16 
			 Islington 650 11 550 9 5,080 25 3,880 21 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 190 9 190 8 1,760 14 2,990 22 
			 Lambeth 790 15 510 11 6,560 27 4,330 19 
			 Southwark 770 15 610 12 6,310 24 6,150 23 
			 Wandsworth 460 7 400 6 4,150 16 2,200 9 
			 Westminster(3) 380 8 260 7 3,550 14 3,090 12 
			 Barking and Dagenham 730 12 730 11 2,380 17 4,610 26 
			 Bexley 610 8 480 7 900 5 3,560 18 
			 City of London(3, 4)   10 1 5,470 10 3,440 7 
			 Greenwich 880 12 840 12 6,560 32 5,840 25 
			 Hackney 760 16 670 13 6,160 29 4,850 24 
			 Havering 650 7 590 6 2,280 13 1,730 10 
			 Lewisham 670 9 500 7 4,880 25 4,310 22 
			 Newham 880 10 950 11 5,760 22 5,410 20 
			 Redbridge 570 7 430 5 4,950 24 5,060 25 
			 Tower Hamlets(4) 870 13 680 11 6,660 22 9,060 26 
			 Barnet 600 6 510 5 2,190 8 2,810 8 
			 Enfield 840 8 690 7 6,700 29 4,340 23 
			 Haringey 740 12 630 12 4,310 22 6,540 28 
			 Waltham Forest 550 7 540 6 4,710 24 3,270 14 
			 Bromley 550 5 510 5 1,540 7 5,040 23 
			 Croyden 940 9 830 8 3,630 11 4,900 15 
			 Kingston 210 4 180 3 5,940 20 5,070 20 
			 Merton 220 8 200 7 3,800 23 2,590 12 
			 Richmond 200 4 140 4 1,810 15 3,320 25 
			 Sutton 370 5 340 5 2,340 15 2,410 19 
			 Brent 400 5 450 7 4,070 17 6,090 24 
			 Ealing 530 8 500 8 4,340 16 5,030 18 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 450 16 280 8 2,060 10 2,550 15 
			 Harrow 370 5 360 5 2,130 15 980 6 
			 Hillingdon 780 8 710 7 4,580 19 4,220 19 
			 Hounslow 540 7 600 8 2,010 10 3,650 15 
			  
			  East of England 
			 Bedfordshire 930 7 920 7 3,360 10 6,140 18 
			 Luton 600 9 620 9 3,800 22 3,870 22 
			 Cambridgeshire 960 6 900 5 5,130 10 4,230 8 
			 Peterborough 680 10 610 9 2,600 19 3,110 21 
			 Essex 3,550 9 2,890 7 12,220 12 12,260 12 
			 Thurrock 530 9 450 8 1,630 15 2,060 19 
			 Southend 560 8 530 7 2,720 22 2,440 21 
			 Hertfordshire 1,840 5 1,670 5 9,310 12 11,760 15 
			 Norfolk 1,870 8 2,040 8 9,610 17 8,750 15 
			 Suffolk 1,790 9 1,780 8 6,990 14 8,690 18 
			  
			  South West 
			 Bournemouth 360 8 400 9 1,040 6 1,370 7 
			 Dorset 660 6 770 7 3,710 13 2,010 9 
			 Poole 300 7 290 6 1,360 16 1,380 15 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 1,210 7 1,060 6 5,520 12 3,800 10 
			 Devon 1,310 6 1,300 6 4,090 20 4,130 21 
			 Plymouth 820 8 710 7 4,430 18 4,160 15 
			 Torbay 280 6 320 7 1,310 15 1,620 21 
			 Gloucestershire 1,200 6 920 5 6,760 15 7,620 17 
			 Somerset 860 5 760 5 4,500 16 5,230 15 
			 Bath and NE Somerset 310 5 260 4 2,150 14 2,060 10 
			 Bristol 1,030 9 950 8 7,410 17 5,270 14 
			 North Somerset 270 5 250 5 1,280 8 1,110 8 
			 South Gloucestershire 460 5 390 5 1,900 9 1,390 7 
			 Swindon 410 6 580 8 2,370 14 2,340 17 
			 Wiltshire 660 6 740 6 4,320 14 5,330 16 
			  
			  West Midlands 
			 Birmingham 4,630 14 3,920 11 23,120 25 21,850 20 
			 Solihull 870 9 690 8 3,740 24 1,870 13 
			 Dudley 930 8 840 6 14,280 33 9,390 21 
			 Sandwell 1,040 11 1,140 16 7,150 26 5,880 26 
			 Walsall 960 10 870 9 5,120 20 5,900 26 
			 Wolverhampton 1,020 11 960 11 3,580 20 3,940 21 
			 Coventry 1,000 9 950 9 6,010 21 2,280 9 
			 Warwickshire 1,040 6 1,150 7 4,510 11 6,170 15 
			 Herefordshire 370 7 290 6 1,340 19 1,260 12 
			 Worcestershire 1,070 7 920 6 4,310 11 4,710 14 
			 Shropshire 460 6 450 5 3,800 19 2,130 12 
			 Telford and the Wrekin 510 9 530 9 2,130 16 3,230 22 
			 Staffordshire 1,960 7 2,050 8 5,990 10 6,990 12 
			 Stoke on Trent 1,380 16 1,430 16 5,040 23 6,140 22 
			  
			  East Midlands 
			 Derby City 840 10 710 8 8,780 16 10,950 20 
			 Derbyshire 1,690 8 1,480 7 5,630 12 8,440 16 
			 Leicester City 1,250 11 1,200 10 4,930 15 5,110 14 
			 Leicestershire 1,210 6 1,080 6 3,410 7 4,450 9 
			 Lincolnshire 1,310 6 1,130 5 8,720 17 8,500 18 
			 Rutland 10 1 10 2 220 10 570 22 
			 Northamptonshire 1,830 8 1,420 6 7,740 14 9,790 17 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,270 5 1,220 5 8,650 14 7,030 12 
			 City of Nottingham 940 10 930 8 5,800 18 5,340 15 
			  
			  Yorks hire  and the Humber 
			 East Riding 500 6 620 6 3,200 16 4,090 16 
			 Kingston upon Hull 1,510 14 1,330 14 2,380 17 3,420 20 
			 North East Lincolnshire 660 10 660 10 2,010 17 3,240 26 
			 North Lincolnshire 500 8 570 9 2,310 18 2,690 18 
			 Barnsley 980 13 900 12 3,550 20 3,280 18 
			 Doncaster 1,250 12 1,180 11 3,180 15 1,530 7 
			 Rotherham 980 10 1,130 11 3,210 15 4,920 22 
			 Sheffield 1,790 11 1,680 10 8,880 17 9,570 17 
			 Bradford 1,880 12 1,560 10 8,390 20 8,760 20 
			 Calderdale 650 10 640 10 2,000 18 2,670 20 
			 Kirklees 1,430 10 1,420 10 4,560 14 7,470 22 
			 Leeds 2,540 10 2,170 9 12,910 14 8,870 10 
			 Wakefield 1,290 12 1,230 11 3,860 16 5,080 20 
			 York 360 5 420 6 1,420 8 3,520 18 
			 North Yorkshire 870 5 880 5 4,610 12 5,320 14 
			  
			  North West 
			 Cheshire 1,350 6 1,260 5 5,470 10 3,440 7 
			 Warrington 500 8 450 7 1,140 8 1,360 10 
			 Cumbria 1,090 7 950 6 1,370 21 1,720 21 
			 Bolton 1,140 11 1,170 13 4,290 17 4,260 16 
			 Bury 560 8 550 8 2,420 17 2,610 19 
			 City of Manchester 1,870 12 1,760 11 8,010 19 6,410 13 
			 Oldham 710 7 750 9 3,450 16 5,150 26 
			 Rochdale 800 10 720 12 3,950 22 4,450 24 
			 Salford 720 10 750 10 2,890 15 3,750 20 
			 Stockport 600 6 810 9 3,130 12 3,040 13 
			 Trafford 490 6 490 7 1,730 10 3,200 18 
			 Tameside 730 8 720 9 4,950 24 4,190 20 
			 Wigan 1,160 10 1,140 10 6,400 26 6,160 24 
			 Halton 510 11 540 12 2,210 22 1,910 16 
			 Knowsley 700 12 690 14 2,730 20 3,140 24 
			 Liverpool 2,080 12 2,040 13 8,370 17 8,210 17 
			 Sefton 870 8 870 8 2,390 10 4,500 17 
			 St. Helens 730 12 680 10 3,220 24 3,020 22 
			 Wirral 1,180 10 1,210 10 3,910 18 4,470 20 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 640 11 600 9 3,020 24 2,740 21 
			 Blackpool 650 12 620 9 2,060 17 3,110 25 
			 Lancashire 3,100 8 2,820 8 12,740 14 14,320 15 
			  
			  North East 
			 County Durham 2,100 13 2,060 13 5,500 19 4,050 13 
			 Northumberland 940 10 980 10 2,080 11 2,890 16 
			 Darlington 370 9 330 7 3,680 17 3,490 17 
			 Stockton on Tees 720 10 610 10 2,850 18 3,250 20 
			 Middlesbrough 880 16 870 14 2,590 18 3,590 25 
			 Hartlepool 360 10 400 11 1,840 22 1,960 24 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 600 11 610 12 1,980 19 1,760 17 
			 Sunderland 1,390 14 1,320 13 4,680 19 3,430 14 
			 Gateshead 830 14 750 12 3,360 20 2,980 20 
			 Newcastle 1,200 10 1,120 9 4,350 13 4,160 11 
			 North Tyneside 710 11 700 11 2,730 17 2,970 22 
			 South Tyneside 700 14 550 11 3,370 23 3,800 28 
		
	
	
		
			   Local labour force survey (LLFS) 
			   LLFS 01/02  LLFS 02/03  LLFS 03/04  LLFS 04/05 
			   18-24 year olds NEET( 2)  Percentage 18-24 year olds NEET( 2)  18-24 year olds NEET( 2)  Percentage 18-24 year olds NEET( 2)  18-24 year olds NEET( 2)  Percentage 18-24 year olds NEET( 2)  18-24 year olds NEET( 2)  Percentage 18-24 year olds NEET( 2) 
			  South East 
			 Bracknell Forest 1,410 17 670 9 730 10 1,220 15 
			 Reading 1,910 12 2,400 14 2,590 17 2,250 14 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 1,230 13 1,610 16 1,200 12 1,400 17 
			 Slough 1,610 12 1,410 13 2,100 19 1,980 16 
			 West Berkshire 800 8 1,110 9 1,530 14 830 8 
			 Wokingham 1,380 13 780 8 820 8 800 8 
			 Kent 15,070 15 16,470 16 17,670 18 13,350 14 
			 Medway 3,510 16 2,690 15 4,070 19 3,970 18 
			 Buckinghamshire 3,070 9 4,520 12 4,290 13 5,600 15 
			 Milton Keynes 1,780 9 2,060 11 3,130 15 2,140 12 
			 Oxfordshire 5,120 10 4,890 10 4,520 8 2,360 5 
			 Portsmouth 2,290 11 2,310 11 2,680 13 2,390 12 
			 Southampton 3,030 9 4,050 12 3,230 11 3,130 9 
			 Isle of Wight 1,640 21 1,710 19 1,250 15 1,250 15 
			 Hampshire 8,270 10 8,570 10 13,230 15 10,210 11 
			 Surrey 7,180 10 6,780 9 10,200 14 6,850 9 
			 Brighton and Hove 2,380 9 3,460 12 2,370 9 3,350 13 
			 East Sussex 3,720 12 3,690 13 4,430 14 4,020 13 
			 West Sussex 3,130 6 5,700 11 7,670 16 7,240 15 
			  
			  London 
			 Camden 3,430 17 3,010 12 3,030 16 2,960 15 
			 Islington 3,510 18 3,640 20 4,330 23 3,990 22 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 1,980 16 1,150 8 1,330 9 1,850 12 
			 Lambeth 2,400 8 4,000 16 4,260 18 5,860 27 
			 Southwark 4,400 18 4,870 20 7,020 24 5,970 24 
			 Wandsworth 3,290 12 4,320 17 2,790 12 3,520 12 
			 Westminster(3) 3,340 15 2,920 15 2,960 15 2,530 12 
			 Barking and Dagenham 3,330 21 4,060 25 3,510 24 3,810 29 
			 Bexley 2,070 13 2,510 13 1,600 9 1,680 9 
			 City of London(3, 4) 7,310 16 5,040 11 5,400 11 6,490 14 
			 Greenwich 3,020 17 3,530 20 6,090 28 4,620 25 
			 Hackney 6,220 30 2,850 14 3,540 17 4,350 24 
			 Havering 2,580 13 1,410 9 1,690 8 1,630 9 
			 Lewisham 4,010 16 5,110 18 6,250 30 6,410 33 
			 Newham 7,340 25 7,430 27 5,960 19 4,340 16 
			 Redbridge 4,230 22 3,510 16 3,260 17 2,610 12 
			 Tower Hamlets(4) 7,370 25 7,860 27 5,860 21 7,680 23 
			 Barnet 2,410 8 3,460 13 4,950 17 6,240 19 
			 Enfield 2,680 12 5,680 27 2,080 8 4,040 20 
			 Haringey 5,320 22 4,420 26 5,130 29 5,950 27 
			 Waltham Forest 4,170 18 5,010 22 3,990 21 4,880 21 
			 Bromley 2,860 14 2,650 13 2,830 12 3,030 14 
			 Croyden 4,630 16 5,520 17 3,160 10 4,290 13 
			 Kingston 5,950 24 4,730 19 5,620 21 6,450 26 
			 Merton 1,400 9 1,450 11 2,140 14 3,430 25 
			 Richmond 1,010 9 1,040 10 1,440 15 1,620 12 
			 Sutton 1,340 9 1,350 9 2,350 17 2,150 16 
			 Brent 3,680 11 3,150 10 3,910 13 4,680 18 
			 Ealing 4,840 20 3,340 10 4,030 13 3,660 12 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 2,090 11 2,390 11 4,390 18 2,440 13 
			 Harrow 1,640 10 880 5 2,740 13 1,720 11 
			 Hillingdon 2,240 11 1,970 10 1,900 10 4,110 18 
			 Hounslow 2,210 12 2,170 12 3,180 15 3,970 17 
			  
			  East of England 
			 Bedfordshire 3,960 14 2,410 8 2,850 9 2,780 8 
			 Luton 2,820 16 3,610 21 3,060 18 3,110 21 
			 Cambridgeshire 6,830 14 5,660 13 3,430 8 8,290 18 
			 Peterborough 2,310 18 2,710 20 2,350 16 3,170 20 
			 Essex 11,950 12 18,210 19 11,950 13 9,860 10 
			 Thurrock 1,430 13 1,570 13 1,870 16 1,610 15 
			 Southend 2,760 21 1,900 17 1,540 12 1,970 19 
			 Hertfordshire 8,410 11 7,220 10 10,170 14 9,150 12 
			 Norfolk 8,770 15 7,250 13 6,320 11 7,460 12 
			 Suffolk 9,000 19 5,400 13 6,640 15 5,420 12 
			  
			  South West 
			 Bournemouth 1,260 8 1,210 8 1,050 8 1,140 7 
			 Dorset 6,200 22 2,660 11 3,570 14 4,520 16 
			 Poole 1,230 13 1,370 15 1,400 15 1,330 13 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 5,760 16 5,630 18 4,240 11 4,430 12 
			 Devon 4,810 20 5,930 29 4,420 20 4,640 20 
			 Plymouth 4,800 23 4,420 15 4,490 16 3,990 16 
			 Torbay 1,660 20 1,090 12 1,010 13 2,020 23 
			 Gloucestershire 4,350 11 5,380 14 4,100 10 5,020 12 
			 Somerset 2,230 7 3,620 11 1,660 6 3,320 10 
			 Bath and NE Somerset 1,380 8 1,150 6 1,690 11 1,740 11 
			 Bristol 3,640 9 4,730 14 4,860 11 4,800 11 
			 North Somerset 1,510 12 1,740 14 1,470 12 800 7 
			 South Gloucestershire 1,490 7 1,930 9 1,780 8 2,290 12 
			 Swindon 1,480 11 1,110 8 1,510 13 1,160 8 
			 Wiltshire 1,310 5 2,310 9 3,380 11 2,080 7 
			  
			  West Midlands 
			 Birmingham 23,600 25 19,700 19 21,190 20 18,930 20 
			 Solihull 1,610 11 1,190 9 1,870 12 2,400 16 
			 Dudley 7,450 18 8,160 20 10,950 30 10,640 27 
			 Sandwell 3,870 18 4,700 22 6,350 25 6,960 26 
			 Walsall 4,360 21 4,290 21 4,870 27 3,520 15 
			 Wolverhampton 4,960 24 4,710 21 5,740 27 3,410 18 
			 Coventry 3,840 14 4,300 15 4,590 13 4,870 16 
			 Warwickshire 4,460 12 6,110 16 5,560 15 3,530 8 
			 Herefordshire 930 9 1,850 17 1,300 12 850 10 
			 Worcestershire 4,010 11 4,410 11 4,790 13 3,800 11 
			 Shropshire 2,090 13 1,860 11 2,550 18 2,400 14 
			 Telford and the Wrekin 1,730 16 2,130 15 2,290 15 2,220 15 
			 Staffordshire 5,030 9 6,990 12 7,890 13 5,700 9 
			 Stoke on Trent 3,390 15 3,670 19 3,410 16 3,870 17 
			  
			  East Midlands 
			 Derby City 8,740 18 9,560 18 8,620 20 10,730 20 
			 Derbyshire 5,100 12 6,130 15 3,650 7 5,330 10 
			 Leicester City 4,500 15 5,850 17 8,010 23 6,790 17 
			 Leicestershire 3,570 8 5,230 10 5,110 11 3,690 8 
			 Lincolnshire 6,530 15 7,010 16 5,240 12 7,500 15 
			 Rutland 360 21 190 11 330 14 360 12 
			 Northamptonshire 7,060 13 5,590 13 5,240 10 5,920 11 
			 Nottinghamshire 9,980 16 9,200 15 8,480 14 7,320 12 
			 City of Nottingham 4,490 14 4,940 13 5,820 16 4,590 14 
			  
			  York shire  and the Humber 
			 East Riding 2,340 14 2,820 14 1,620 9 2,180 10 
			 Kingston upon Hull 1,060 7 1,720 10 690 4 660 4 
			 North East Lincolnshire 3,320 26 2,870 26 2,770 22 2,890 24 
			 North Lincolnshire 1,810 17 2,160 19 2,240 18 2,780 20 
			 Barnsley 3,340 24 4,670 28 4,020 23 3,300 20 
			 Doncaster 2,860 13 2,100 9 1,800 8 3,280 16 
			 Rotherham 3,860 18 3,900 19 3,200 17 2,610 13 
			 Sheffield 7,630 16 7,480 14 8,230 15 6,600 12 
			 Bradford 9,880 24 10,420 23 9,130 21 7,900 16 
			 Calderdale 2,620 19 2,260 15 3,450 26 2,770 22 
			 Kirklees 5,850 18 7,300 24 6,120 21 4,880 15 
			 Leeds 7,700 11 5,720 7 8,070 10 7,590 9 
			 Wakefield 3,070 13 4,380 16 4,000 14 4,640 18 
			 York 2,010 10 1,030 6 1,580 9 1,140 6 
			 North Yorkshire 3,570 11 4,960 14 3,920 10 4,560 13 
			  
			  North West 
			 Cheshire 7,310 16 5,040 11 5,400 11 6,490 14 
			 Warrington 2,970 22 2,670 19 1,200 7 1,990 13 
			 Cumbria 1,460 18 1,160 15 1,540 21 1,080 14 
			 Bolton 3,180 16 2,710 13 4,170 18 2,480 11 
			 Bury 2,720 18 2,580 17 1,570 12 2,990 21 
			 City of Manchester 8,260 16 9,710 22 9,090 19 8,180 17 
			 Oldham 4,160 23 4,500 25 4,430 26 5,150 27 
			 Rochdale 2,570 18 3,840 22 3,850 23 4,010 22 
			 Salford 4,640 22 3,370 16 3,920 20 4,110 25 
			 Stockport 2,020 12 1,330 7 2,780 14 3,150 13 
			 Trafford 1,690 11 2,820 15 1,890 11 1,910 11 
			 Tameside 2,600 15 2,320 14 2,710 14 4,110 20 
			 Wigan 4,670 20 4,070 15 4,670 18 5,170 21 
			 Halton 2,570 32 2,210 25 2,270 19 2,410 23 
			 Knowsley 3,420 29 2,740 25 1,930 15 2,540 19 
			 Liverpool 8,940 19 10,080 22 9,500 21 9,460 20 
			 Sefton 3,930 19 4,550 20 3,640 17 3,330 14 
			 St. Helens 2,120 15 1,840 14 2,950 20 2,690 19 
			 Wirral 2,880 15 3,820 17 4,820 20 4,740 21 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 2,630 22 2,690 24 1,930 16 3,020 24 
			 Blackpool 1,910 17 1,700 16 1,800 17 1,380 14 
			 Lancashire 12,950 15 9,500 11 12,530 14 13,430 15 
			  
			  North East 
			 County Durham 2,930 12 4,300 16 3,840 14 4,060 13 
			 Northumberland 3,420 16 4,360 22 3,600 16 3,240 15 
			 Darlington 3,160 15 3,820 19 5,370 21 3,800 20 
			 Stockton on Tees 2,060 14 3,700 24 3,820 25 2,670 18 
			 Middlesbrough 2,960 25 3,090 25 3,170 22 3,440 23 
			 Hartlepool 1,980 30 1,730 24 2,330 27 2,610 33 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 2,790 28 2,260 23 2,630 24 1,890 18 
			 Sunderland 5,930 22 3,760 14 6,250 23 4,060 17 
			 Gateshead 2,330 16 3,290 20 3,130 17 3,130 18 
			 Newcastle 4,420 16 4,380 13 4,000 11 4,800 13 
			 North Tyneside 3,790 23 2,100 16 2,320 18 2,340 13 
			 South Tyneside 2,740 22 2,730 22 2,640 21 3,090 23 
			 (1) The percentage of 16-18 year olds NEET relates to calendar age, and is the average between November and January. (2) The percentage of 18-24 year olds NEET relates to academic age and is the average over a whole year. (3) Data for City of London were included with Westminster in the APS and LLFS data. (4) Data for City of London were included with Tower Hamlets in the Connexions data, 2005.